


Is This Love True

by Warmal



Category: Lilo & Stitch (2002)
Genre: F/M, Love, Romance, is - Freeform, is this love true, this, true - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-05-11 05:20:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 38,284
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5615362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Warmal/pseuds/Warmal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stitch is in love with Lilo, but in fear of rejection he hasn't said anything. Lilo has also been meaning to tell Stitch something. With the help of a little pink experiment, matchmaking ensues. Stitch feels guilty about Lilo being forced to love him, but doesn't want her to stop. Love can make you do some crazy things, sometimes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Stitch was running all over the house, he needed everyone in place and everything needed to be perfect. Today was Lilo’s fourteenth birthday and as always, Stitch wanted it to be special. He decided to make it a surprise party this year, sadly not all the experiments could attend, which was to Nani’s liking. Quite a few helpful ones did show up though. Felix was busy helping clean and Frenchfry was making a feast to satisfy the twenty or so experiment guests on top of the regular household. Reuben was in the kitchen trying to convince Frenchfry to let him make a bunch of sandwiches, but was quickly shooed out. Instead, he decided to help Angel and Sparky put up a bunch of decorations.

A blue blur throughout the house, Stitch tried his best to make sure everything was ready. Checking the kitchen a number of times to make sure the cake he made himself was still intact, he was satisfied that all was going well. Calming down a little, he went into the living room to help with the decorations, of which Dupe was supplying copies, which needed to be hung. All in all it was coming together. Red and blue balloons softly touch the roof in every corner and streamers of every colour cascaded the walls. Stitch had painted a large banner that read “Happy Birthday Lilo” which was adorned on the wall above the couch.

Everything was ready. All that was left was to wait for Lilo to get home. Victoria had taken her to the mall for the day while everyone got the house prepared. Lilo had no clue what was going on. As a family, they had decided to celebrate her birthday a few days later since Nani and David were supposed to work on her actual birthday. She didn’t mind though, as long as she was with her ohana, nothing else mattered. _She is going to be so surprised._ Stitch giggled to himself, unable to contain his own joy. The entire time he could see Angel looking at him out of the corner of his eye. He knew what she wanted to talk about, but he kept brushing her off. He would make excuses not to talk to about it, for weeks now he had been avoiding her. Lilo even noticed Stitch was acting strangely, but knew he would say something if he needed to. It looked like tonight he wasn’t going to be able to avoid Angel anymore though. _I’ll put it off as long as I can._

The sun was beginning to set on the island, Stitch knew it was almost time for Lilo and Victoria to arrive. He directed everyone into place and turned off the lights. After waiting a few minutes in utter silence, the door started to creak open.

“That’s weird. Why are the lights off?” Confused, Lilo let Victoria in and closed the door. Just as she turned around the lights flicked on.

“Surprise! Happy Birthday Lilo!” Everyone shouted at once, filling the house with a chorus of emotion. Stitch was at the very front of the group. He could see Lilo’s face brighten with surprise and joy, she was completely awestruck.

“My gosh! Everyone? I had no idea.” She looked out onto the room and saw everyone who had come on her special day. Nani came over and gave her a hug, wishing her a happy birthday personally. “I thought you had to work though.”

“How could I work on your birthday?” Nani stood up and moved to the side, directing Lilo’s attention to the bashful blue experiment. “It was actually Stitch’s idea, he came up with it a long time ago.”

“Really, Stitch?”

“Ih. Meega thought Lilo like surprise.”

Lilo quickly pulled Stitch into a hug. “I love it, Stitch. Thank you so much.” She gave him a kiss on the cheek before being pulled away for party games.

Out of the corner of his eye, Stitch saw Angel had made her way over to him. “Stitch.”

“Nagga now, Angel.” He didn’t even turn to look at her, his focus was solely on his friend enjoying her party.

“Yuuga nagga nota gaba meega want.”

“Meega do. Meega nagga talk about it.” Stitch turned to look in the pink experiments dark eyes. “Please, Angel. Let meega enjoy the party.”

 Before receiving an answer, Stitch left to join the fun and games, leaving behind a very crestfallen Angel.

“Yuuga can’t run from it forever.”

The entire house was in an uproar of festivities. Before long, someone suggested playing musical chairs and an entire tournament broke out. Sample volunteered to be their music/sound provider and eventually, the final battle came. A single chair sat in the ring of experiments. Lilo and Stitch stared each other down, waiting for Sample to begin the song. Once they heard the sounds begin, they started circling the chair, waiting for the moment to pounce. Having superior reflexes and speed, Stitch was sure he could win, but this was Lilo’s birthday. Suddenly, Sample stopped, Lilo and Stitch ran to reach the chair first. As soon as he was about to reach it, Stitch pretended to slip on the floor, falling flat on his face. Lilo hopped onto the chair and everyone cheered. Stitch looked up to see her face beaming. He stood up and went to congratulate her.

“You let me win, didn’t you, Stitch?”

Stitch shook his head and raised his hand to shake hers. “Nagga. Meega never do that.”

Lilo took his hand into her own and smiled at her lifelong friend before pulling him into another hug. “Thank you. This party is wonderful.”

Before the party could continue, a tall noodle like alien walked into the room of experiments and girls to make an announcement.

“Hold it! Hold it!” Everyone’s attention turned to Pleakley. “It is now time to partake in the dining of this delicious, despite not being made by me, food!”

As soon as Pleakley finished saying the word “food,” everyone started rushing into the kitchen, knocking him over and to the side.

“Don’t everyone rush in all at once now.” He said as he fell back from dizziness.

Knowing that there wouldn’t be enough room in the kitchen, everyone filled their plates with an assortment of food and ate wherever they could. A lot taking to the outdoors to enjoy the night sky with their meal. Stitch never left Lilo’s side the entire time, he enjoyed every second of her company. Angel looked at them from a distance. She knew she couldn’t talk to Stitch when he was with Lilo. Suddenly, she grinned mischievously. _If I can’t go to him. I have to make him come to me._ Scanning the crowd of experiments she found her soon to be accomplice. A chubby, tan yellow experiment with floppy ears sitting by himself near the tree line, eating a sandwich. She carefully made her way through the crowd, trying not to rouse suspicion, especially from Stitch. Squeezing her way past the last few experiments she kneeled down in front of Reuben.

“Aloha, Reuben.”

“Hey, Hotcakes. What brings you over here?” He gulped down the rest of his sandwich as to not talk with his mouth full.

She wiggled one of her fingers telling him to lean in. When he complied she whispered into his ear. The more she told the more shocked his face became.

“What?” he shouted.

“Sh sh sh sh.” Reuben covered his mouth. The two looked around to make sure no one was paying attention to them. Thankfully, everyone was still busy talking and enjoying the food that Frenchfry had made.

“Really?” Reuben asked, now that the initial shock had passed.

“Ih. Meega try to talk about it, but Stitch keep avoiding me.” Angel’s normally cheery demeanor dropped into one of sadness.

“Well, I agree. He needs to tell her. What can I do for you?”

“Really? Yuuga help me?”

“Of course. He’s my cuz. So are you. I’d be more than glad to help out. But, does she really?”

“Ih. “ Angel nodded profusely. The both looked out on the crowd, trying to think of the perfect plan. They knew they couldn’t do this alone.

“What we need is help.” Reuben brought his hand up and began rubbing his chin. Finally using his superior intellect for something other than sandwiches, he formulated a plan. “I’ve got it!” Reuben whispered the main details of the plan in Angel’s ear, hoping no one nearby could hear them. “Got it?”

“Ih.” Angel was smiling again. _This has to work._

“Okay. You go tell Victoria, I’ll go recruit our little friend. Once the party is over, I’ll bring Stitch to you. If he doesn’t listen, we unleash the secret weapon.”

The two high fived and then split up. Angel quickly made her way through the crowd. Thankfully, Victoria and Snooty stood out from the crowd. Having closed the distance to her friend as quickly as she could, she tapped Victoria on the shoulder. Victoria looked up to see Angel leaning down to whisper something in her ear. As Angel whispered the plan, Victoria grew a huge grin, she couldn’t help but giggle at the, sure to be, outcome.

“Alright, I’ll be able to do my part. You focus on yours.” The two friends hugged as Angel went off to keep any suspicion from arousing.

 Meanwhile, Stitch was sitting on a log, enjoying the last of his meal with Lilo. Enjoy wouldn’t be the right way to put it, though. Normally he would have gulped everything down at once, some of the other experiment’s food as well. However, he didn’t feel all that hungry. He stared down at it his plate and pushed the vegetables around with his fork. Poking at them every now and then. Lilo noticed he wasn’t eating much and became worried.

“Are you okay, Stitch? You’re not really eating.”

“Huh?” Stitch looked up and saw the concern on his friends face. “Oh! Ih. Meega butifa.” Stitch smiled as wide as he could. _Maybe I should tell her. At least then I will feel better._ “Actually, Lilo. There is something meega want to talk to yuuga about.”

“What is it?”

“Well…yuuga see…”

Before Stitch could finish however they heard Nani call from inside the house. “Come on in everyone! Time for presents and then cake!”

Everyone began rushing inside. Lilo stood up and brushed herself clean of any dirt from the log, “C’mon, Stitch. We better get in their soon. Everyone will be waiting for me.”

“Ih…” Lilo ran ahead as Stitch sat there, again looking down at his plate, sadly. He place it on the log beside him and stood up to head inside. _It is probably for the best if I don’t say anything._

Stitch got inside just in time to see everyone sitting in a half circle around Lilo who was sitting on the couch. She had waited for him, not wanting to open her presents without her best friend. She waved him over and he quickly took his place beside her.

“Alright.” She said as she picked up one of the presents. Going through the presents from her family she got a waffle iron from Pleakley, who said that in his Earth research he found that it is a traditional gift to give, a new surfboard from Nani and David, and Jumba had given her a new communicator system for her and Stitch. Even though their experiment hunting days were long past them, they still went out on adventures. Finally, it was Stitch’s turn. He handed her a medium sized, thin light blue square box, with a dark blue ribbon.

“Oh Stitch. You didn’t have to get me anything. You already planned this whole party for me.”

“Meega wanted to.” Lilo took the box with a smile, opening it carefully, having no idea what was inside.

When she pulled it open, her face lit up. Inside was a brand new red photo album. Adorned in the slot on the cover was a picture of Lilo and Stitch a few months after they first met. They were sitting on a tree with their arms around each other as they smiled and waved at the camera. Inside, all the pages will filled of photos and mementos of the years they spent together. There was even still some room in the back for more memories to be made and shared. Tears of happiness swelled up in Lilo’s eyes. She stroked the cover of the album before turning to pull Stitch into a hug.

“Thank you so much. I love it!” She gave him a kiss on the cheek and lingered there for a moment before pulling away. Stitch wished it had lasted longer, but he was satisfied that she loved his gift.

“Meega glad yuuga like it.”

Lilo hurried off to put her presents away while everyone else got ready for cake. Putting everything she had received in the dome room she and Stitch shared, she lingered. Holding onto the album close to her heart, she placed it in her secret box hidden under her bed for safe keeping. Reaching the elevator she looked back at the secret spot one last time before heading down into the living room to continue the party.

Once Lilo had arrived, everyone became quiet, she was about to question it when, suddenly, the lights went out. A soft, warm glow could be seen from the kitchen and after only a short moment a large birthday cake with fourteen candles alit on top came out to meet her. The cake was more magnificent than she had ever seen before. It was two feet tall and two feet wide, like a giant cube. The icing was a bright red with white trimming along all the edges. Flowers made out of icing of every colour were decorated along the corners on the top. In the middle were the words “Happy Birthday Lilo” written in liquorice icing. Everyone was singing “Happy Birthday” to her, a lot of the experiments trying the best they could with the English words. _I never know what to do at this part._ She stood there, blushing furiously, waiting for the moment to blow out the candles. As soon as the song finished, she made a wish and blew out all the candles in one breath.

Everyone in the room cheered, and Nani gave Lilo a hug as David and Jumba set the cake back on the table in the kitchen to start dishing it out. All the experiments got in line for cake, Victoria and Stitch were at the back, waiting for Lilo to join them.

“So, what’d you wish for?” Nani whispered.

“I can’t tell you. It won’t come true then.”

“Awe, come on. I’m your sister, you can tell me.”

“Well,” Lilo looked over at Stitch and smiled, “nope. Can’t say.”

Nani followed her sister’s gaze towards Stitch and smiled in understanding. “Alright, but let me give you some advice.” She said while standing up. “It’s better to do something yourself, rather than wait for a wish to come true.” Nani headed into the kitchen, squeezing past Kixx and Slugger, who were blocking a good section of the entrance.

Lilo stood there for a second, processing Nani’s words. Blushing, she shook her head to clear it and joined her friends in the diminishing line. After everyone enjoyed the cake, they noticed that it was starting to get late. Having started the party after sunset they knew it would be a late night, but it was worth it for Lilo.

“Thank you all for coming.” As each experiment made their way out, Lilo would thank them and promise to visit them soon. Considering the number of guests, she was going to be stuck at the door for a while. Reuben saw this and signaled Angel and Victoria to start the plan. Victoria waited with Lilo, while Angel quickly ran into the deserted hallway. Once he saw the two were in place, he approached Stitch.

“Hey, cuz! Amazing party you threw. Could have used some more sandwiches though.”

“Thanks. Meega try for more sandwiches next time.” He said with a laugh.

Reuben joined in his laughter, “So, you glad it’s all over now, though? Getting some time to relax.”

“Ih, but it was worth it. Anything for Lilo.” Reuben noticed a twinkle in Stitch’s dark eyes.

“Yeah. About that. Do you think you could come with me for a second? There’s something I want to talk to you in private about.”

“Ih.” Stitch was confused, but if Reuben needed him for something he wasn’t going to ignore him. He followed close behind as they walked out into the hallway. Before he had a chance to ask what was going on though, he noticed Rueben move behind him quickly as Angel stepped forward.

“Gaba? Angel?” He looked confusedly between the two before anger washed upon his face. “Gaba going on?”

“Let’s call it, a little intervention, cuz.”

Having his full attention, Angel finally had her chance to talk to Stitch after weeks of trying. “Weega need to talk about Lilo.”

 


	2. For Tonight

“We nagga talk about anything.” Stitch said angrily as he waved her off. He turned around to leave, but Reuben put his arm up against the wall to block Stitch’s path.

“Gaba ika tasoopa?”

“The big deal is your feelings for Lilo. Now we are going to talk about this until you come to terms with it.”

“Yuuga can’t aggaba meega.”

“You’re right. Neither Angel, nor I, am strong enough to stop you, but this is for your own good, cuz.”

“Hmph.” Stitch crossed his arms and turned back to Angel, who suddenly became nervous. “Well?”

“We both think yuuga should tell Lilo-“

“Nagga-takabah.”

“Yuuga didn’t let meega finish.”

“Meega don’t have to.” Stitch was getting impatient and turned away from the two of them. _You don’t understand. I can’t tell her._

“Stitch, please let us just talk it out. We’re family. You and Lilo are the ones that taught us what ohana is all about.” Reuben put one arm around Stitch, comfortingly. Stitch hesitated for a moment, if he wanted to, he could easily just leave. Any restraint they tried to put on him wouldn’t be enough to stop him. _Lilo wouldn’t want me to fight with family, and they don’t deserve it, they’re just trying to help. Maybe I can convince them that I can’t confess._

“Okay, okay.” Stitch said while turning around. “We talk.”

The yellow and pink experiments were overjoyed. All they really cared about was getting Stitch and Lilo together at last.

“That’s the ticket.”

“Oketaka. Stitch, yuuga love Lilo.”

“Ih.”

“Wait, you admit it?” Reuben was shocked. He never would have though Stitch would outright say he was in love with Lilo.

“Ih. Meega know for long time. It why meega break up with Angel.” Stitch said as he turned his attention to the pink experiment, who lost all the joy she had previously.

 _Even though I knew he did. I always wished he still loved me somewhere deep down._ Angel shook away her sadness and any tears that were starting to form. “That was almost a year ago, Stitch.”

“Ih.”

“Then why yuuga not tell Lilo yet?”

Stitch waited a moment, both Angel and Reuben looked at him intently, waiting for his answer.

“Meega can’t tell her.”

“Why not?” Both said at the same time.

“Because, Lilo doesn’t feel the same way. If meega tell her, it ruin our relationship. Meega don’t want to lose best achi-baba.”

Reuben looked over at Angel, knowingly. He decided it would be best to let her reply. “Gaba if she feel same way.”

“Gaba?”

“Would yuuga tell her if she felt the same way about yuuga?”

Stitch hesitated, _I never thought about her feeling the same way as me before. Would I tell her then?_ “Of course meega would.”

“Yuuga want to be with her right?”

“More than anything.”

“Then yuuga should tell her.”

“Nagga.”

“Why not, cuz?” Reuben couldn’t take it anymore. “You never know what will happen unless you try.”

Stitch stepped back away from the two of them. “We don’t know how she feels. Nagga matter how much meega love her, or want to be with her. Meega can’t risk it.”

“So, Lilo would have to confess first then?” Reuben asked, sounding defeated.

“Ih.”

“I was afraid of that. For the famous “626,” you sure are timid when it comes to Lilo.” He turned to the pink experiment with a mischievous grin that took up his whole face. You know what to do then, right Angel?”

“Accata.”

Stitch tilted his head, not quite sure what was about to happen. Angel brought two of her fingers up to her mouth and made a near silent whistle, only loud enough for experiments to hear. After a moment, a small pink and purple hummingbird appeared from upstairs. Hovering there for a second, Stitch realized who it was.

“Hunkahunka?! Gaba you three up to?” Before Stitch had time to react, the small bird flew straight at Stitch. Thinking the plan was to peck him, Stitch dodged the oncoming bird. Landing safely on the wall, Stitch prepared himself for the next attack from Hunkahunka, but saw that the bird wasn’t coming after him. Instead, saw that he kept flying down the hallway.

“Sorry, cuz, but you fell right into our trap.”

“Huh? Trap? Lilo!” Stitch exclaimed with a gasp. _If you peck Lilo you will be sorry._ With great determination, Stitch dropped to the ground and ran after the little experiment on all fours. Despite knowing he wasn’t as fast as the flying bird, he hoped he could at least warn Lilo before she was pecked.

While Stitch, Angel, and Reuben were talking out in the hall. Lilo was continuing to thank all of the experiments who came for her birthday. One by one the experiments went out the door, till who Lilo thought was the last one stepped forward.

“Did you have a good time?” Lilo asked the small grey experiment wearing a green turtleneck sweater. His long rabbit like ears flopped down when he was addressed.

“Oh yes, meega did. Meega hope meega didn’t eat too much cake. Everyone had enough, ih?” As he continued, he pulled the collar of the turtle neck higher and higher up over his face. “It was so good. Oh, meega should apologize for eating so much. Meega soka. Meega should have left more for yuuga. Ah! Meega doing it again. Meega soka. Meega taking too much of Lilo’s time isn’t meega?” The small experiment continued his rant, apologizing over and over again over every little thing. Lilo just giggled as she got down on her knees and gave him a hug.

“Oh, Worrywart. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’m glad you had fun.”

The small experiment popped his head out of his shirt, dark blue eyes wide open, with a sigh he said, “What a relief.”

“You get home now, its dark so be careful.”

Worrywart was halfway out of the door when Lilo said ‘dark,’ causing him to freeze out of fear. He started ranting with worry again as he cautiously walked down the staircase from the house step-by-step.

“Is he gonna be okay?” Lilo’s freckled friend asked.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine. It may take him a while, but he’ll make it home safely.”

“That’s for sure.” The two laughed together as Victoria made her way to the door. “Well, I should get going now too.”

“Alright. Thank you so much. I was really surprised, and thank you for the trip to the mall.”

“It was no problem, Lilo. Stitch wanted to make sure you had the best birthday ever.”

Lilo couldn’t help but blush at the mention of Stitch. “Really? He’s so sweet. All I need is you guys, really. This party was amazing though.”

“It really was,” Victoria said with a smile, noticing Lilo blushing. “You know, you really should tell him soon.”

“What?” Lilo brought her hands up to her face, trying to cover the ever growing redness. She could feel the warmth on her fingertips. “You know I can’t tell him that.”

“Why not? You don’t want to miss your chance, and tonight would be perfect.”

“Because, he’s my best friend. I don’t want to ruin what we have between us.”

“Hmm. Well, I kind of get the feeling you may tell him sooner rather than later.”

Lilo became very confused. “What makes you say that?”

“Ohh.” Victoria saw a small hummingbird come flying into the living room. “No reason. I really have to get going. Have a good night. Aloha.” Victoria finished hurriedly as she left through the door slamming it shut.

“What was that about?” She said feeling her cheeks finally start to cool down. _I could never do that._

Stitch rushed into the living room, just in time to see Hunkahunka heading towards a very confused Lilo. Before he could warn her though, the small experiment pecked Lilo on the back of the neck.

“Ouch!” Lilo exclaimed, rubbing the spot that suddenly hurt.

“Crabba snabba.” Stitch cursed under his breath, as Hunkahunka flew into the kitchen and out of sight. Stitch couldn’t help but notice he was the only one around, almost like this was all planned. His eyes grew wide when everything became clear. Stitch tried to get out of the room before Lilo could see him, but was too late.

Lilo had already turned around to see what had just pecked her, with no one but Stitch filling her view. Hearts formed in her eyes as nothing but Stitch seemed to matter to her anymore, all she wanted in the world was to be with him and only him. To tell him one thing that would make her happier than anything. “I love you, Stitch.”

She moved towards him to give him a hug and a kiss, while Stitch started backing away, not entirely sure what he should do. Before he could make it out of the room he felt two pats on his back as a yellow and a pink experiment walked passed him.

“Have fun, Stitch. This is your big chance.” Reuben chuckled as he opened the door to let Angel through.

“Aka-choota.” Angel called out, waving good-bye to everyone. “Have a good night.”

“Thanks for the party. Happy birthday, Lilo.” Without waiting for a reply, Reuben closed the door, sharing a giggle with Angel before leaving the two love birds alone.

Lilo didn’t answer Reuben when he left, she didn’t even hear him. Right now, her entire world was only filled with the small blue experiment before her.

“I love you, Stitch.” She repeated, continuing to make her way towards her newly appointed love.

“Now, Lilo. This nagga yuuga talking.” He said while backing away. “Hunkahunka pecked you, we need to get yuuga in some water.”

“But this is me, Stitch. Nothing’s wrong with me. I just was finally able to confess my feelings for you.”

Stitch could feel himself begin to blush. _Maybe he didn’t peck her. Maybe she does truly love me, just like I’ve always wanted…No. I saw him peck her. This isn’t right._ He ran into the hall, making his way to the bathroom with lightning speed. Lilo ran after, calling out to him, but he didn’t stop for anything. Once her face was rinsed with water, Hunkahunka’s effect would wear off. _Then she will be back to normal._ He reached the bathroom door, trying to open it before Lilo could stop him. Jiggling the handle a few times he found it was locked. Wiggling it a few more times with more tenacity, to no avail, a voice called out from inside.

“Sorry, the bathroom is currently occupied.” Pleakley called out in a sing song voice, while trying on a new stick of bright red lipstick he had recently bought. “I may be a while!”

Stitch dropped his head in defeat, he turned to try and find a new source of water when a pair of tan arms suddenly enveloped him in warm hug. He looked up to see Lilo smiling down at him with one of the biggest smiles he had ever seen on her. The smile made him hesitate for a moment, giving him mixed feelings. Without even thinking about it, he wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. His heart began to race as Lilo placed her lips on top of his head, giving him a soft kiss that felt different from all the others. _Maybe this isn’t so bad._ Stitch had thought. _The spell will be broken as soon as she takes a bath. Just for tonight, maybe I should enjoy this..._

Lilo could feel him return her hug and her heart nearly burst from joy. She knew that Hunkahunka had pecked her, but didn’t care. All that mattered to her was that she loved Stitch, and wanted him to know it. Her lips tingled as she kissed Stitch, his warm fur tickling her slightly as she pulled away. Stitch looked up into her chocolate brown eyes that were glossed over with happiness, making them shine in the bright light of the hallway. Never being held so close to his love for so long, his eyes darted back and forth slightly, taking in each detail of how Lilo was now, in his moment of bliss. How her smile made small wrinkles under her eyes, and how her silky raven black hair fell slightly in front of her face from running. The love that just her look gave him made him feel like he could leap out of his skin. _Enjoy it while you can, Stitch. She won’t stay this way for long._

The two held their embrace for several minutes, having softly fallen to the ground they cuddled as they sat up against the wall. Jumba, Nani, and David had already fallen fast asleep. The only sounds they could hear was the shuffling from the bathroom beside them, as Pleakley tried on as many new combinations of outfits as he could. Completely unaware of the two just outside of the bathroom door. Feeling the time tick by, Lilo knew it was getting way too late to stay up, she could feel her eyes start to close slowly against her will. Reluctantly, she stood up, pulling Stitch up with her by both hands.

“Come on, my love. It’s time to go to sleep.”

“Ih.” He replied sadly. _At least I have this night with her love._

The two got ready bed as always. Lilo had put on her teal night gown and began brushing her hair on her bed, staring longingly at Stitch as he got dressed. Stitch had a distant look about him, one that was easily noticed. He didn’t move with the same enthusiasm he always showed. Moving slowly, he kept hunched over, unable to feel anything but the guilt of keeping Lilo under a spell as he finished putting on his one piece pajamas and night cap.

Lilo grew more and more concerned, a small frown formed on her face. “Are you okay, Stitch?”

“Huh? Oh. Ih. Meega fine.” Stitch didn’t really look at her. He couldn’t look at her, he didn’t feel like he deserved to look at her.

“You seem really sad.”

“Meega sad? Nagga-takabah.”

“Stitch. You’re not even looking at me…Please look at me.”

He could hear the hurt in Lilo’s voice, a tone he never wanted to hear from her again. No matter how guilty he felt, he always wanted to make sure she was happy. _Even if she is under a spell. She is still Lilo._ Stitch turned around and was stunned. The moonlight coming in through the window cast a pale heavenly glow on Lilo, making her long smooth hair shine beautifully. Even with a frown, he couldn’t help but love the way her face always shined when she was tired. She had stopped brushing her hair, clutching at the handle of the brush tightly, not caring about the slight pain in her fingertips. She could see Stitch freeze the moment he saw her. She didn’t know why, but it made her flush instantly, she tried to hide her face with her hair, making it seem casual. _Why am I so flustered? I asked him to look at me, but now I can’t even look at him._

Stitch giggled at her display of shyness. Even if he felt guilty about it, it was only for one night. _I’ve always dreamed of this._ Pushing his feelings of guilt aside, he decided to do something he always wished he could. He walked up to the unsuspecting Lilo, still hiding her face. Jumping onto the bed and pushing her hair aside he found her blushing, staring deep into his dark eyes. With a smile he brushed her hair behind her ear, cupping the back of her head with his hand gently. Captivating her entire being with is stare. He could feel her quiver under his touch.

“What are you-?”

“Shh.” Stitch interrupted, putting a finger to her lips. She felt a shiver run down her spine at his touch. Unable to speak, she let him pull her into a deep and tender kiss. The first kiss she had ever shared with anyone, taken, willingly by her best friend. _I’ve waited so long for this,_ Lilo thought, feeling herself give in to the strong experiment she had known for so long. As quickly as the kiss had begun, it ended.

“Meega always wanted to do that.” Stitch said tenderly as he pulled away. “Isa alright if meega sleep with yuuga tonight?”

“Uh-huh.” Lilo said, still in a daze from the kiss. She could still feel his lips on hers and wished for more. However, her earlier need for sleep finally caught up to her. Laying down, intertwined with Stitch in her arms, she quickly fell asleep. Her brush long discarded on the floor.

“Good night, my love.” She whispered as sleep took her.

“Good night, Lilo.” Stitch laid awake for a few moments. Looking at the sleeping form of his angel in his arms. With a slight squeeze, Stitch allowed himself to fall asleep too, with one last thought that made his heart heavy. _In the morning it will all be over, and she won’t remember a thing about it._


	3. Congratulations

Stitch awoke to find himself in an empty bed. With a heavy heart, he laid back while sighing and stared at the ceiling. Stretching his arms and legs he thought about the previous night. The thought warmed him far greater than any relaxing cup of coffee ever did. He could still feel Lilo’s lips on his, and feel her hair between his fingers. He closed his eyes and replayed the night in his mind over and over, unable to get past how good it felt to actually be “together” with Lilo. Knowing it couldn’t last, though, he got out of bed and saw that the clock read ten in the morning.

“Breakfast time.”

He discarded his pajamas and night cap, on the floor near his cot, without a care, before taking the lift to the floor below. Stepping off the cool metal floor onto the warm wood of the hallway, Stitch could hear the water running from the bathroom, with Lilo’s sweet angelic voice filling the air. _I suppose that’s it then. It was good while it lasted._ With a sad sigh he dragged himself to the kitchen. With it all over, Stitch felt less guilt about taking advantage of the spell now that it was over. It’s not like he told Hunkahunka to peck Lilo, in fact, he tried to stop it. He even tried to break the spell, but was stopped by Lilo herself. _Nothing to feel bad about. I tried my best, now it’s over, and no one but me knows._

Making it to the kitchen he found it was still quite a mess. A quickly scribbled note on the fridge from Nani told him that she was called into work early and they were free to help themselves to whatever they liked. One part of the note confused him though. At the bottom of the paper, the words “P.S. Congratulations” was scribbled with a smiley face. Little more than confused, he paid little mind to it and continued trying to figure out what to eat. Noticing that there were no left-overs from the party, Stitch tried making some bacon and eggs, exactly how Lilo showed him to. Unfortunately, Stitch was not a natural cook. How he managed to make such a magnificent cake was far beyond him.

Thankfully, he managed to only burn the bacon a little, and after a mishap with the eggs, Stitch decided scrambled eggs would be a good alternative. Filling two plates and placing them on the table he took his usual seat, seeing one plate in front and one across from him. He couldn’t hear the water running anymore so he assumed Lilo was done washing up and would be joining him shortly.

“Meega try a little taste.” Stitch grabbed a piece of bacon and took a bite out of it. Tasting it for a moment, he swallowed the entirety without chewing. “Nagga butifa, but oketaka.”

“Ah 626. Congratulations.” Said Jumba as he walked into the kitchen, grabbing some food out of the fridge. Before Stitch had a chance to answer Jumba had already left with his desired food.

“Gaba was that about?”

Pleakley suddenly burst into the kitchen, shouting. “Where’s my hairdryer?! Where is it!?” Pleakley rummaged through all the drawers and cupboards, in complete disregard for everything around him. “I had it last night… where did it go…. Oh I knew I shouldn’t have left everything out. Now it might be ruined forever! Ruined!”

“Pleakley?” Stitch was rather shook up at the display before him.

Hearing his name, Pleakley suddenly turned around, frozen in place, embarrassment slowly creeping on his face. “Oh. Stitch. I, uh, didn’t see you there.”

“Why yuuga need a hair dryer?”

“Hair dryer?” He said while laughing a guilty laugh. “Why would I be needing a hair dryer, you silly. It’s not like I left a bunch of clothing that is totally not for my disguise out and then spilt water all over it. Oh no. That would never happen.”

Feeling Stitch’s eyes burn through him he slowly shifted out of the kitchen. “Oh! Congratulations by the way!” Pleakley shouted as he ran towards his and Jumba’s room.

 _What does everyone keep congratulating me for?_ With a shrug Stitch went back to trying out the food he had made, noticing it was almost starting to cool down too much. The sound of feet approaching yet again caught his interest and he titled his head to listen to the sound better. He knew it was Lilo who was coming. Being with her for so long he could tell the difference between the way she walked from everyone else. He began to blush in embarrassment from the memory of last night. Even if Lilo didn’t remember, he did, and that was enough to turn his face a bright magenta. He looked down at his plate, hoping that the slight angle would make it so she could not see how pink he was getting.

“Good morning, boojiboo!” Lilo shouted at the sight of Stitch the moment she entered the kitchen. Stitch’s entire world stopped. _Boojiboo?_ He quickly turned to look at her in awe. She tied her hair to the side in a red scrunchy, and was wearing a pastel pink t-shirt with tan shorts. Stitch remembered when Nani bought her those clothes so she would fit in with the other girls more. Lilo didn’t like them for that very reason, the shorts were just shorter than her usual ones so she said they were uncomfortable. The shirt was just slightly too tight and she felt like she was constrained and couldn’t breathe well.

“Lilo? Those clothes.”

“I know, I know. I don’t like them that much, but I remembered you were feeling down last night.” With a twirl she added, “So I thought if I wore these clothes it might cheer you up. What do you think?”

“Yuuga always beautiful.” Stitch blurted out without thinking. Lilo’s face brightened and Stitch’s reddened from his comment. “Meega want old Lilo back…” He said under his breath, hoping she couldn’t hear. Lilo did hear it though.

“I thought you might.”

“Gaba?”

“After breakfast, I’ll go change into my regular clothes.” She couldn’t help but smile. To her, she only saw Stitch as being cute and adorable, not guilt ridden about the whole ordeal. “Oh! Did you make breakfast, boojiboo?”

“Boojiboo?”

“Is that not what I should call you? That’s what you and Angel used to call each other. I thought after that kiss last night…”

Stitch shot in before Lilo became sad, not wanting a repeat of the previous night. “Nagga. Boojiboo isa fine. Just so sudden, nagga used to it yet.”

“Really? I’m glad.” Her face beamed with a smile so great that it brightened up the room. Stitch could see how happy she was. A genuine happy. Not a fake happy. “This food looks so good.”

“Oh, isa nagga butifa.”

“What do you mean?” Lilo had already begun eating the slightly burnt bacon before Stitch had even finished his explanation. “This food is delicious. Even better than Frenchfry’s last night.”

Stitch gave a half-hearted giggle. He was lost in thought while the two of them ate together. Lilo had grabbed her plate and sat as close to Stitch as she could. He could feel the heat from her body, and it made his heart speed up a little. _What is going on? The spell should be broken, unless she isn’t the one that was having a shower._

“Did Lilo have shower this morning?”

“Yeah. Sorry I didn’t wait for you to get up, my hair felt mucky from walking around the mall. Why?”

“Nagga reason, just wondering.” Stitch said with a smile. Satisfied, Lilo continued eating the food she loved so much. _Okay. So she did have a shower. The spell should be broken, but it clearly isn’t. This is different than normal though. This doesn’t seem like the regular fake love. She isn’t just agreeing with everything I say, she’s doing things on her own and everything seems to be genuine. Something isn’t right about this. Did Angel and Reuben do something to Hunkahunka beforehand? Or is it something else?_

Lilo finished eating her food and took their empty plates to be placed in the nearly full sink. “So I already told everyone about us being together now.”

“Everyone?” Stitch asked, wondering just how many people “everyone” was.

“Yeah. I told David, Nani, Pleakley… I didn’t get a chance to tell Victoria but I know she will want to know right away. Oh! I also told Jumba.”

“Jumba?”

“Yeah. I saw all of them while you were still asleep. They all seemed really happy for me, especially Nani.”

_That explains all the congratulations, but if Jumba knows… Maybe he can help me figure this out. I’ll talk to him when I have the chance._

“Stitch?” Lilo’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Her sweet angelic voice was like music to his ears. He was starting to enjoy the idea of being boojiboo’s with Lilo. It didn’t seem like anyone had any issues with it either. Something about the entire situation didn’t make him as guilty as he initially felt.

“Huh?”

“I asked if you would like to go out today. I’d like to get to spend the day with you, especially after all you did for me yesterday.”

“Sure. Meega love too.”

“Yay!” Lilo smiled again, brightening up the room even more. “I’m going to go get changed then. If that’s okay with you.”

“Mhmm. Meega like regular yuuga.”

“Alright, I’ll be right back.” She gave him a quick kiss that sent a shiver through his small body. He told her he was going to go get the buggy ready while she changed. Stitch ran off on all fours quickly, eager to enjoy his first day with Lilo as his girlfriend.

Lilo took the lift up to their room. The way she was facing allowed her to see herself in the mirror immediately. She began twisting and turning, trying to see herself from every angle she could. _I guess I might look cuter, but Stitch said he liked my regular clothes._ Thinking about it for a moment Lilo made her decision. _I do too. These just aren’t as comfortable._ She quickly changed into her red muumuu, happy to have freedom back in her movement. _I’m glad Stitch loves me for me. Oh Stitch…_ Lilo began to swoon, unable to contain her love. She fell back on her bed, letting her hair fall all around her. _I can’t believe he loves me back. I’m so happy I told him I love him._ Thinking back to the previous night, Lilo suddenly became puzzled. _Why did I tell him? Stitch mentioned something about Hunkahunka… no. This is no spell. This isn’t that fakey love that Hunkahunka makes. This is true love._ Lilo rolled on her side, she could still smell Stitch’s fur on her bed and it warmed her to know she could sleep with him in her arms whenever she wanted. After a few moments, Lilo bolted up. _Stitch! How long have I been up here? He must be wondering what happened._

Lilo ran out of the house as fast as she could. She found Stitch waiting for her in the buggy, staring at her intently. She ran up to him and began to apologize while catching her breath. She was quickly interrupted by the feeling of Stitch on her lips as he kissed her passionately, making her melt instantly.

“Gaba yuuga saying?” Stitch said as he pulled away from her smiling.

“N-nothing.” She replied, still feeling the waves of emotion going through her.

The two set off for a day in the town, unsure of where exactly they were going, or what they were going to do.

Meanwhile, two experiments were having lunch together. Giggling and laughing over the little mischievous fun they had with their cousin. Having found a nice outdoor café the other week, Reuben thought it would be the perfect place to talk about what he and Angel had done the night before.  

“So, how do you think Stitch is doing right now?” Reuben asked as his and Angel’s waitress left after dropping off their food. 

“Nagga nota. Meega hope he didn’t just break Hunkahunka’s effect right away.”

“I didn’t even think of that.” He said while inspecting each layer of his clubhouse sandwich. “Although, I’ve seen what Hunkahunka’s peck can do. Something about it didn’t seem quite right last night.”

“Gaba yuuga mean?”

“Well, when old gerbil face was pecked, he basically did everything Gantu had told him. Of course, his personality didn’t change, but he didn’t do anything on his own really. You see, Hunkahunka doesn’t make love, he makes this weird fake love. You are basically compelled to do and say you like whatever the one you’ve fallen in love with wants. Like a love sick zombie.”

“Lilo didn’t really seem like that.”

“Exactly!” He said while taking a bite out of his sandwich, contemplating if it was to his liking. Some crumbs fell onto his chest fur and Angel couldn’t help but giggle at his display. She picked up her spoon to start her tomato soup. Swallowing with a slight blush, Reuben thought of something. “Do you think it has something to do with what you told me?”

“Maybe. We didn’t really ask him gaba effects he has other than gaba we already knew.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine. It’s not like it could be anything Stitch couldn’t handle.” He said, waving off any concerns he had.

“Ih. Meega just hope we made right choice.”

“Well, if what you told me about Lilo and Stitch is true, then it should all work out in the end right?”

“Ih…” Angel looked off into the distance. She was suddenly worried that they may have done something terribly wrong. Reuben saw the sad, distant look in her eyes and made a decision. He put down the half of his sandwich he was about to eat and grabbed Angel’s hand, pulling her out of her daze.

“Gaba?” He threw some money on the table and pulled Angel down from the chair. She let herself get dragged away by the yellow experiment. “Gaba about lunch?”

“Ah, it wasn’t that great anyway. I could do better. Besides, today isn’t a day to be sad.” He continued pulling her away. She didn’t care where they were going, she was just enjoying the time being with someone. She could feel her cheeks grow red, focused solely on the feeling of her hand in his. She looked out on the town before them. She wondered just where Reuben was taking her, but then realized she didn’t really care. All worry about Lilo and Stitch left her. _Today isn’t a day to be sad._


	4. For the First Time

Stitch had been driving around the island for a few hours. Every town they hit he would ask Lilo if she wanted to stop there to look around, but she would only reply that it didn’t matter where they went. Unclear on what he should do, he continued their journey. The entire time, he could see Lilo staring at him out of the corner of his eye. He wasn’t sure why, but it made him extremely nervous and at the same time he was enjoying the attention. _It’s what I’ve always wanted._ However, he couldn’t help but feel disillusioned by it. At any moment the spell could be broken and he would lose his boojiboo. He had been contemplating his feelings on it all, deciding that it would be okay for him to enjoy this time as long as he did try to find a cure. Seeing that they had finally made their way full circle, he drove back into their home town. He shook his head to clear it and parked the buggy on the side of the road near Mrs. Hasegawa’s fruit shop.

“Everything okay, boojiboo?”

“Ih. We drive for a while. How about we go for walk?”

“That sounds great! Let’s go grab some shave ice and enjoy the nice day!”

Lilo leapt out of the red vehicle and quickly made her way around to Stitch. He was about to start walking on all fours, as usual, when he felt his hand get grabbed by Lilo. It didn’t feel the same as all the other times she held it in town. Rather than the feeling of being led around like a pet, he felt equal. It warmed him to feel that he didn’t have to hide anymore. He looked up into Lilo’s sparkling eyes, curious if it would be okay for him to be himself for once.

“You’re not my pet anymore, Stitch. You’ve been here for years now, no one is going to question you.”

Stitch smiled greatly. With more enthusiasm than you could think be held in such a small body, he took the lead, nearly dragging Lilo to Slushy’s Shave Ice stand. Once they arrived, the small ice blue experiment noticed the two were holding hands.

“Aloha, cousin! Aloha, Lilo. Meega sorry meega couldn’t make it yesterday.”

“Its okay, Slushy. I couldn’t expect the whole island just to stop for me.” Lilo giggled.

Slushy noticed the smile on their faces, while they were normally happy people, the shine in their eyes told him something special had happened. “So, gaba happen with yuuga?”

“Gaba?” Stitch questioned, he didn’t realize he was being so revealing. Before Slushy or Stitch could continue, Lilo answered Slushy’s question with great excitement.

“Stitch and I are boojiboo’s now!”

Stitch became flustered. Most of, if not all, his cousins knew about his long time feelings for Lilo. Either between him telling them when pestering him about his and Angel’s relationship ending, or just by figuring it out for themselves. Slushy was one he didn’t tell.

“Really? Congratulations!” Stitch cringed slightly at the word. _Congratulations._ “Meega always thought yuuga make cute couple.”

“Thanks, Slushy.”

“Yuuga nota gaba? Shave ice on house. Meega didn’t get to celebrate yesterday, so isa my treat!”

“Yuuga naga have to do that!” Stitch persisted. “We nota how important this is to yuuga.”

“Meega insist. Gaba flavors?”

Lilo’s face was beaming. _I have such an amazing ohana. I’m the luckiest girl in the world._ She held onto Stitch’s hand tighter, causing him to blush even more than before. “I’ll take strawberry, Stitch will have coconut. Right, Stitch?”

“Ih.”

Slushy blew ice onto two paper cones and quickly splashed them with flavor. “Here yuuga go. Have a butifa day!”

The two bade their thanks as they started enjoying their treats while heading deeper into town. Everything seemed so much different than before. Stitch still got the odd looks from tourists, but they seemed to just roll off him. The normal piercing gaze of those who didn’t know or understand always hurt him. All he wanted was to be himself, and now here he was. Walking with the love of his life, holding her hand and enjoying one of their favorite treats. The world seemed to be filled with so much more life around him. For the first time since he realized his feelings, he truly enjoyed the feeling of the tropical breeze on his fur. The songs of love birds filling the air around them.

Lilo could feel it too. Every step she took felt more liberating than anything she ever felt before. Her entire world opened up before her. _Everything I’ve ever wanted is finally coming true._ She smiled down at her companion, he had been by her side for so long, only ever leaving once to almost immediately return. Even through all the ups and downs in her life, he was a constant reminder of all the good that can be found in the world, even through the darkest of times. Stitch felt her gaze on him and looked up at her, smiling from ear to ear. Together they made their way past the odd stares of the on lookers, without a care in the world. Lilo could feel her heart race in her chest, not yet used to the fact that she could openly show Stitch her true feelings for him.

“This feels amazing, doesn’t it?”

“Yuuga feel it too?”

“Yeah.” The two sat down on a nearby bench, throwing their empty paper cones in a trash bin nearby. “I mean, we’ve been friends for so long. It just feels so natural and right to be like this.”

“Ih, it does.” Stitch replied, hiding the pain of the loss he knew was to come. “Meega wanted this for a long time.”

“Really? I had no idea. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Meega try, but meega nagga want to lose yuuga as meega’s achi-baba.”

“Oh, Stitch.” Lilo pulled him into a hug, enjoying the warmth of his fur from the hot sun. “You would never lose me as a friend. I’ll always be your friend, no matter what. I’ve wanted it for a long time too, you know.”

Lilo’s words rang through Stitch’s head as he processed what she had said. _I’ve wanted it for a long time too? Hunkahunka just pecked her last night…._

“Lilo.”

“Yes?” She was still holding him, her body didn’t want to let go of him now that she had him close.

“Can meega ask yuuga something?”

“Of course, anything.”

 

Meanwhile, Lilo and Stitch weren’t the only ones enjoying a day together. After lunch, Reuben had dragged Angel all over the town. He wasn’t really sure what had compelled him to do it. It was one thing to want her to be happy, but now they were laughing as they shared a milkshake outside the local café. He enjoyed every moment he spent with her, ever since the battle with Leroy he had a small crush on Angel, it was like a dream come true. Angel also wasn’t sure why she let herself get swept away by Reuben’s antics. He was true to his word though, he made them the best sandwiches she ever had. It had just happened, but she couldn’t help but think about the trip she took around the island with him. He showed her every little bit that he loved. He had spent a fair more amount of time exploring Kaua’I than she did. She couldn’t believe all the things she didn’t notice. It felt like a whole new island to her.

The two enjoyed the cool breeze blow by them. Angel giggled at the tuft of hairs on Reuben’s head as they blew in the wind. He began to blush, thinking he had done something funny.

“What is it? Do I have some mustard on me or somethin’?” He began checking his fur for anything out of place.

 _He is too cute._ “Nagga. Meega just enjoying this day with you.”

“Really? Gee, thanks. It’s actually been one of, if not the best day since that Leroy battle when I really got to know you.”

“Meega?” Angel felt herself turn crimson. She never felt like this around anyone but Stitch before. _Am I starting to like Reuben?_ “Why then?”

Reuben realized what he had said, but didn’t notice Angel start to blush from his comment. “I couldn’t believe my eyes, really. You’re one of the most amazing experiments I ever met. Seeing you fight… It helped me realize just what I could do if I put my mind to it.”

“Really? Meega didn’t realize meega did that.”

“It was probably one of the biggest reasons why I became Gantu’s right hand man after. I wanted to make up for all the time I spent being lazy and trying to capture my family… including you.”

“Reuben…” Angel was speechless. She didn’t realize what kind of impact she had on his life. Before she could say anymore, she saw Lilo and Stitch walk by, hand-in-hand. “Are they on a date?”

“Is who on a-?” he looked behind him and realized who she was talking about. “So he didn’t spray her with water after all.”

Reuben smiled at the couple. _They really do look cute together._ He looked back at Angel to find her with a very large grin. “What are you thinking, hot cakes?”

“We go spy on them, see how they’re doing.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Reuben threw some money on the table and the two quietly snuck up to Lilo and Stitch, who were sitting on a bench.

“Meega knew they make good couple.” Angel whispered.

“Yeah, but what happens when the spell is finally broken?”

“Gaba you mean?”

“Well, normally those affected by Hunkahunka have no memory of what happened.”

Angel thought about it, realizing that their plan might not be as fool proof as she thought. “Meega didn’t know that.”

The two jumped behind some bushes near the bench, they had a great view of the two hugging, but they could be seen at any moment. Angel’s curiosity was peaked when she heard Stitch say he wanted to ask Lilo a question. She move, slightly, so she could hear better, causing her to step on a twig snapping it in half.

With a gasp the two ducked, but Stitch’s advanced hearing heard the branch. Before they could get out of view, Stitch looked up and saw them trying to hide.

“Meega be right back, Lilo.”

“Didn’t you want to ask me something?”

Stitch hesitated, it was really important, but right now, he needed to go confront his two cousins. “Ih. I won’t be long, don’t worry.”

He gave her a quick kiss, causing her heart to race and her face to grow red. It was her first kiss in public and she became flustered over it. She always hated seeing teenagers and grown-ups kissing when she was younger. Now she was the one doing it, her eyes fluttered as she felt Stitch’s lips leave hers. He hopped down and quickly ran over to Angel and Reuben’s hiding spot. Leaving a swooning Lilo on the bench.

“Stitch….” The young girl whispered, dreamily.

The two experiments were still crouched behind the bushes, unsure of their next plan of action.

“Do you think he saw us?” Reuben asked Angel in a hushed tone.

“Meega saw yuuga.” Said Stitch from behind them, causing both experiments to jump in surprise. “Meega need some answers.”

“What do you mean, cuz?” Reuben asked with a nervous laugh.

Stitch approached the two, Angel couldn’t tell if he was angry or not. If he was, she would feel awful.

“Gaba yuuga do to Lilo.”

“We didn’t do anything, Hunkahunka pecked her.”

“Naga!” Stitch shouted. “Yuuga had to have done something else.”

“Gaba you mean?” Angel asked. She expected anger, but he sounded more like he was pleading.

Before Stitch could reply, Reuben chimed in. “Look man, I get it, you feel bad about the whole thing. We just wanted you to be able to confess, and we gave you a great opportunity.”

“Huh?”

“Go break the spell and explain what happened and then tell her you love her!”

“Yuuga don’t understand.” Stitch began. “Lilo had shower this morning, the spell should be broken, but isa isn’t.”

“What?” The two replied in unison. They looked at each other, worried, wondering if they did something really bad now.

“Ih! Now answer. Gaba yuuga do to Lilo?” Stitch wasn’t angry, he just wanted the one he loved to be okay. Reuben didn’t know what to do, by all means the spell should be broken. Angel was the only one who had a different thought on the matter.

“What if Lilo isn’t under the spell anymore.”

Stitch was quiet for a moment. “Gaba? Of course she is…” He began sadly. “She’d never have done all this if she wasn’t.”

“She would so!” Angel shouted angrily. _How can you be so blind?_

“How do yuuga know?”

“Because…” Angel couldn’t answer, an old promise held her tongue strong. “…I just do.” The fire had left her, she couldn’t say any more than that, and she knew Stitch wouldn’t believe her anyway.

Reuben saw Angel’s spirits drop, and could tell Stitch was either going to be more furious or fall into sadness. _Man, we really screwed up._ Reuben’s ears dropped along with his face.

“Look, cuz. I’m sorry for what we did. We didn’t know that the spell wouldn’t be broken. We just wanted to get you to come clean about your love for her.” Stitch looked up, he couldn’t be mad at them. All they did was try to help. His yellow cousin continued without stopping for forgiveness. “All we want is for you two to be happy, and it looks like you have been, right?”

“Ih.”

“She looks happy too.”

“But isa she? Or isa because of Hunkahunka?”

Reuben couldn’t answer, he promised Angel he wouldn’t tell Stitch what she told him. “Either way. She is right now. Spell or not, I can see it, she is genuinely happy, Stitch. Don’t ruin that. Maybe the spell will wear off on its own, maybe it won’t. Maybe ask Jumba if you like, I’m sure he can come up with an answer. Just promise me one thing?”

Stitch was touched. Reuben really cared about him and Lilo. _They really did just want me to be happy._ “Gaba promise?”

Reuben walked over to Stitch and put a hand on his shoulder. He looked his cousin dead in the eye, making sure that this one promise made it through to him. “Promise me that no matter what, you will make sure she is happy. Because spell or not, she loves you now more than ever before. You both deserve to be happy after all you’ve been through…all I helped put you through.”

Stitch didn’t know what to say, he didn’t know Reuben felt so passionate about all of this.

“And.” Reuben added. “After all this is over, you need to tell her straight up how you feel about her.”

Stitch looked into his dark eyes and saw himself staring back. This wasn’t just a promise to Reuben, this was to be a promise to himself as well. “Oketaka. Meega promise.”

“Good. Now go back to her. I’m sure she’s waiting.”

Stitch didn’t have to be told twice. He rushed back to his Lilo, finally determined to not just fix everything and tell her how he truly feels, but to also keep the promise he made years ago. To keep Lilo happy.

“Reuben…” Angel said weakly. “Did we do a bad thing?”

He turned to the pink experiment, she was nearly in tears. Her black eyes filled with pain and guilt. Reuben walked over to her, she expected him to put his hand on his shoulder, or take her hand again, or anything else. Instead, he pulled her into a hug. She could feel his arms around her holding tightly, causing her to blush.

“I don’t know. But what I do know is that those two can do anything if they’re together.”

His words comforted her heavy heart. He held her for a few moments, and she could feel herself melt into his embrace. Reuben pulled her away, “Now what did I say earlier?”

“Naga sadness today.” Angel replied, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“That’s right. Now let’s leave those two to themselves.” He took her hand again and led her away from the hiding spot. He wasn’t going to show it, but his cheeks were red and his heart was racing from hugging her suddenly.

“What was that about, Stitch?”

“Hmm? Oh, nothing.” He said with a giggle. “Isa naga matter. Come on. Let’s continue our date!”

Lilo smiled at the word ‘date.’ She complied and let him take her hand as they kept walking. “Oh, yeah. Wasn’t there something you wanted to ask me?”

Stitch thought about it for a moment. He wanted to ask her about what she had said earlier, but he decided against it. _Best not to ruin anything today. We will be happy together._ “Meega ask later. Meega want to enjoy lots of things with boojiboo.”

“I’d like that.” Stitch kissed the back of her hand, making her giggle from his fur brushing her hand. “I’d like that a lot.”


	5. I'm the Worst

A week had passed since Lilo’s birthday, and they were some of the best days of Lilo’s and Stitch’s lives. Being openly together felt far better than they could have ever imagined. What surprised Stitch the most was that everyone seemed completely fine with it. He always believed that Nani and their family would have been against it, since they were different species and all, but she was more supportive than anyone. It was a change that seemed to happen overnight, but truly nothing changed at all. Everyone still treated them the same and they were all as happy as before. Just Lilo and Stitch were finally happy to be in love together. Stitch truly was keeping his promise, keeping Lilo as happy as he could, not wanting to ruin her mood. However, in doing so, he also didn’t try to look for a cure. Honestly, he was starting to enjoy being Lilo’s boyfriend more and more, and he really didn’t want it to end.

The couple had had a busy day, almost every day they would go out on another date. They wanted to make up for the time that they could have been together, and every date was more wonderful and magical than the one before it. Lilo had hoped that on at least one of the times out that they would run into Victoria, so they could tell her the news, but they never saw her. _It doesn’t matter. The break from hula class is done today, so I’ll see her in class tomorrow._

Lilo and Stitch decided to watch a movie, one of Lilo’s favorites. Stitch had let her pick it out this time since he picked the previous one, so they ended up watching “Attack of the Space Bugs 2” again. It was one of the movies she would always watch the whole way through.

“A masterpiece like this can’t just be half enjoyed.” She would always say, whenever someone would want to stop almost any of her favorite movies. With her pouty face and puppy dog eyes, she would always get her way. When it came to Stitch, they were even more effective.

The two of them were sitting on opposite sides of the couch. While Nani allowed them to be a couple, she didn’t like all the “mushy-lovey-dovey” stuff. Even with David she kept it to a minimum. So, they had to settle for that when they were alone, like they were now. Nani had to work a late shift and Jumba and Pleakley were out in Jumba’s ship. Stitch suddenly noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and looked over to see Lilo crawling on all fours towards him, slowly. His heart began to race as she got closer.

It didn’t take long for her to be leaning over him, he thought his heart would burst out of his chest. He thought she just wanted to cuddle and expected her to lay down, but she didn’t, she stayed up and began kissing the top his head. She started trailing kisses till she reached the tip of his ear. Stitch thought his body was on fire, each kiss sent another shock through his system. Once her lips reached the top of his ear he sighed in disappointment, thinking that it was over as he no longer felt her lips against him. Suddenly, Lilo nibbled the dark blue tip of his ear, causing Stitch to gasp. In retaliation, he pushed up, landing on top of Lilo who was now on her back. He could see the redness in her cheeks as she blushed furiously, trying to catch her breath from the rush. With a grin, he leaned forward and began giving her kisses in return. Trailing around her collar bone up to her neck, he could feel her chest rise and fall as her breathing slowly became faster. Once he reached the base of her ear, he gave her a nimble as well, sending shivers down her spine as she involuntarily shifted. She giggled at the tickling sensation as the wave of emotions rocked through her system.

Stitch suddenly stopped, getting a moan of disappointment from Lilo.

“Gaba about movie?” Stitch asked her quizzically. Lilo sat up, pushing some hair behind her ear as Stitch got off of her.

“What about it? Let’s cuddle and look at constellations tonight. The night sky is so clear!”

Stitch’s face contorted in confusion. “But isa yuuga’s favorite.”

“So?” Lilo said as she stood up, readjusting her mu’umu’u. “Let’s go! I’ll meet you up there.” Lilo quickly ran out, Stitch could hear the lift to their room go up, leaving him completely stunned. He looked between the hallway and the television a few times before finally standing.

“Isa yuuga’s favorite.” He whispered as he walked to the television to turn it off. With a slight click the box powered down, and Stitch’s ear twitched as he heard the door creak open. Turning around he saw Jumba and Pleakley start heading towards their shared room.

 _Jumba… Lilo… She’s been fine, I can talk to him about the Hunkahunka peck another time. Right?_ Stitch battled with himself. He felt bad for not saying anything to his creator yet, but seeing Lilo so happy, and getting to live the dreams he’s had for so long felt amazing. He looked back at the TV, thinking about how Lilo just left through a movie she loved. _Maybe I should talk to him about it now._

With a saddened sigh, he quickly ran to the hall, calling out to the large alien just as he reached the stairs.

“What is it, 626?” Jumba asked as he kneeled down to be closer to Stitch’s level.

“Meega been meaning to talk to yuuga.” He said guiltily.

“Well? I am with the listening.”

“Meega-“Stitch began before a voice from above them called out.

“Stitch!” Lilo shouted. “What’s taking so long? Come on, everything’s ready.”

Stitch paused, caught off guard by Lilo’s interruption. He didn’t notice Jumba get up and walk away at first, but quickly did once Jumba called back to him.

“You’re boojiboo is waiting, 626. If I am learning anything from ex-wife, it is that you should not keep them waiting.”

“But-“Stitch was cut off by the door slamming shut. “Gaba about Lilo?”

With a sigh of defeat, Stitch slowly made his way to the elevator. Rather than riding it up, he climbed the wall himself. Jumping out of the hole as the lift closed in behind him. With the soft clang of his claws, Lilo turned around to face him, completely blowing him away. As she turned, her hair flowed out around her and the long night gown fanned out. With the soft glow of the moon and starlight shining through the opened dome, she had an almost angelic look about her that completely captivated the small experiment. Lilo could see him pause as his mouth stayed agape, speechless. She giggled as she made her way over and pulled him by one hand to the bed, with an almost skip like step.

“Isn’t it a perfect night for stargazing?” She said as they laid down under the covers, looking up at the sea of stars.

“Ih. Isa beautiful.” He replied, stars shining in his eyes. “Like yuuga.”

He turned to her, the reflection of the sea of stars visible in her already clear stunning eyes. She blushed slightly at his comment. Even though it had been a week already, she wasn’t used to the sweet things he would say to her. In hindsight, she should have realized it a long time ago, that his comments and actions meant so much more.

“You’re pretty handsome yourself, Stitch.” She replied, seeing the experiment look back up at the sky with a flushed face out of the corner of her eye.

The island’s night sky was always magnificent. They didn’t produce a lot of pollution and the lights from the towns were few and far between, so the stars were hardly blocked out. Tonight though was extraordinary, it had been a long time since Lilo had seen such a sea of beauty and wonder. With not a cloud in the sky, it felt like they could see the entire universe in front of them. Not since she was a little girl, stargazing with her mom, had she seen the sky so clear. Thinking back to the time made her feel warm inside.

“I don’t think I ever told you, Stitch. When I was a little girl, my mom would always make up these funny constellations.” She whispered.

“Yuuga’s mom? Gaba were they?”

She laughed, thinking about them. “Well, you see those stars over there?” she said while pointing. “Kind of like a triangle with a few stars coming out like arms?”

“Ih.”

“That one is the swiss cheese man.”

Stitch giggled at the name. _It really does look like that._ He thought.

“My personal favorite is over there. The one that looks like a round mountain, see? If you connect these stars it’s like there’s little fly’s buzzing around it.”

“Ooh, ohh. Ih. Ih.”

“That one is the stinky bag of garbage.”

“Ooooh.”

“Oh! Over there by the moon, if you go down a bit is Nani’s favorite.”

“Looks like Gigi.” Stitch stated.

“Hahaha, yeah it does.” She agreed while giggling. “That one is the old lady with a Chihuahua on her head. Kind of looks like Gigi and Mrs. Hasegawa, doesn’t it?”

“Ih.” They both burst out laughing, thoughts about Gigi riding on the little old woman’s head filling their minds. Once the two finished their fits of laughter, they shared a deep sigh. Continuing their gaze at the stars.

Lilo turned onto her side, looking intently at Stitch’s face. She memorized every detail she could see. How it wrinkled around his nose as he smiled, the way his short fur would fall slightly to the side when on his back. His ears gently resting against the pillow. The thing she noticed most of all was his eyes. Stitch had always shown the most emotion in his eyes, whether he was happy, guilty, angry, or sad. She could see a distant look in them as they reflected the vastness of space before them. She could even see the slight wrinkle underneath his eyelid as he sighed sadly.

“Stitch,” she began, a noticeable change in her tone, “are you happy?”

His ears perked at her question, he looked over and saw sadness strewn across her usual happy face. A look he hadn’t seen since that night a week ago when she first declared her love for him. He turned over as well, and got as close to her as she could, resting his forehead against hers.

“Of course meega happy.” He said. “How could meega not be?”

“It’s just…” She sniffled. “Sometimes you seem really distant. Like you’re here, but you’re not here. Like you’re thinking about something else, far away. It’s getting more frequent too.”

He lay speechless for a minute. He knew what she was talking about. Even though he had enjoyed their time together, every so often he couldn’t help but feel like it all wasn’t real. He truly thought he had keep those moments from her. _I guess I failed at that._

Stitch lifted her chin with his finger, bringing her eyes up to meet his, seeing the tears about to form and fall freely down her tan face.

“Meega been happier than ever before.” He whispered to her, as softly and lovingly as he could. “Meega love yuuga for butifa long time. Meega never imagine meega get to be with yuuga. Meega guess meega naga used to it yet. Feels like dream.”

Lilo started wiping tears from her eyes as Stitch made his final comment. “Like a dream come true.”

Lilo smiled again, lifting Stitch’s spirits and heart. “It really is like a dream come true.”

“Ih.”

She let Stitch pull her into a hug, feeling him pet the back of her head soothingly. His fur tickled her face but she was far from caring about it. The warmth and comfort was what kept her captivated. For years she had found comfort in Stitch’s hugs, and it still held true. After a few moments she finally recomposed herself, with a final happy sigh.

“I never imagined I would get to be with you either.” Lilo whispered as sleep started to take her over.

Thoughts to the previous week filled Stitch’s head, as words Lilo spoke before surfaced. “ _I’ve wanted this for a long time too_. _” What did she mean by that?_

He thought about questioning her about it, noticing she was starting to fall asleep. He was about to let it go when he suddenly began speaking without thinking about it.

“Lilo? How long have yuuga loved meega?” he asked.

She mumbled for a second before coherent words came out. “I’ve always loved you, silly. Since the moment we met.”

He furrowed his brow, realizing he didn’t ask the right question. “Soka. How long have yuuga been in love with meega?”

He waited a few moments before Lilo finally answered. He could see her face scrunch up as she thought about it, keeping her eyes closed the whole time. “It’s been for a long time I think.”

 _A long time._ He thought as happiness filled his being. _Wait. How long is long? And then what about the peck from Hunkahunka?_

“Do yuuga remember being pecked by Hunkahunka on yuuga’s birthday?” he asked, softly, worried about what her answer would be.

He waited. And waited. And waited. When an answer didn’t come he realized she had finally fallen asleep. Her chest rose and fell softly with each breath. Stitch tried to think of a solution. _No matter what I do I can’t tell if it’s real or not. Anything could be the effects of Hunkahunka. Everything’s seemed normal, but there’s a lot that’s happened that’s been out of place. She’s much more open about her feelings. Even with her crush on Keoni, she was never overly open about it. And there’s tonight. She completely shut out her favorite movie. She would never do that… I really need to talk to Jumba._

He thought about it some more. _What would Jumba think if I told him? Would he be disappointed that I let it go this long? I really shouldn’t have._ Stitch looked at the sleeping form of the girl beside him. Warmness filling his heart as he wrapped his arm around her. _I can’t tell Jumba. Not now. It’s been far too long. What can I do then?_

Stitch closed his eyes. Images of his family turning on him. Abandoning him, for letting him lead them on in all this. Worst of all Lilo. _What will she think of me?_ Stitch could feel his body tremble. The thought of Lilo turning her back on him once it was all over. _Hopefully she won’t remember…_ He pulled her close, seeing a smile creep across he couldn’t help but feel happy. _I really am the worst._


	6. He's Not a Dog

The morning routine had gone as it normally did for the last week. Lilo and Stitch woke up early and made everyone breakfast. Immediately after reaching the kitchen, Nani complained about being late for work and grabbed a single piece of toast before rushing out the door. Jumba and Pleakley acted normal, or as normal as they could be. Lilo smacked Pleakley’s hand away from the pan when he started to try to help to cook.

“Will no one ever let that dog food incident go?” He wailed, sitting back down in his chair with his arms crossed.

Lilo and Stitch just giggled at his pouting display, making him even more upset.

“Hey, what’s everyone laughing about?” David asked as he walked in and sat down.

“Oh the usual.” Pleakley began. “Everyone laughing at my expense.”

“Already? That’s a new record.”

David’s retort just got a huff from Pleakley as he slumped further down into the chair. After everyone was done eating, Lilo and Stitch quickly got ready for hula class. As they were running through the living room, Stitch paused at the kitchen entrance. Staring at Jumba, he contemplated telling him now. Looking between the three at the table he took a step forward, gaining everyone’s attention. Just as he was about to speak, he heard Lilo call from him from outside. Looking between the front door and the three at the table, he quickly backed away and bolted through the door, slamming it behind him. _Ugh. What is wrong with me? Why can’t I do it?_

With a pained sigh, he leaped down the stairs, four at a time, until he finally reached Lilo who was waiting patiently for him.

“What took so long?” She asked as she ruffled the fur on his head.

“N-naga. Just thought meega forgot something.” He replied with a little nervous giggle. Getting a doubtful look from the girl, he quickly changed the subject. “Should meega get buggy?”

Pausing for a moment, Lilo looked him up and down. Clearly something was on his mind, but she remembered what he had said last night and decided to trust him. _If something was wrong he would tell me. We always talk about the things troubling us, don’t we?_ “No. I was thinking we could walk. We still have a lot of time, I don’t think we’ll be late.”

With great enthusiasm, Stitch grabbed her hand and started leading the way. Almost dragging her behind him.

“Slow down!” Lilo stated with a slight giggle. “I already said we had time.”

Stitch slowed down his pace. He could feel the embarrassment creep onto his cheeks. “Soka.”

“It’s no problem, boojiboo.” She got a sly look in her eye as an idea popped into her head. “You know though. If you feel like being in a hurry, we could always have a race.”

“A race?” Stitch asked. He thought back to the last time they had raced to class. He had won, but just barely. Knowing it wouldn’t be fair to go full speed, he would keep himself at around Lilo’s speed. It had been a few years back, and last time the winner got a treat. Since he won, Stitch asked for coconut cake and coffee for breakfast. For a full week. “Yuuga on.”

The two suddenly burst into a full run. Stitch was able to keep ahead on the sloping dirt hill because he was running on all fours. Seeing him start to pull away, Lilo quickly jumped into the forest to their right. She weaved through the branches and bushes, planning to cut Stitch off part way down the road. Reaching the intersection, Stitch made a quick right turn, not noticing Lilo was no longer behind him. With a triumphant grin, Stitch titled his head as he heard ruffling from large palm leaves to his side. Lilo suddenly burst onto the sidewalk right in front of Stitch, making him stop from shock. Without missing a beat, Lilo continued running down the walkway. With the even footing she thought she would be able to keep her early lead.

Approaching the entrance into the city proper, Lilo heard the tapping of claws on the cement coming up beside her. She looked down to see Stitch with all four arms out, using the extra strength from his usually hidden arms to give him extra speed.

“Hey!” Lilo shouted. “That’s not fair!”

Stitch just laughed in reply as he jumped up and grabbed the street light pole, letting his momentum make his turn for him as he quickly flew out of sight. “That little- ugh.”

With great determination, she bounded around the corner knowing full well that she couldn’t let this race fall through her fingers like last time. She quickly skidded to a halt, looking at the crowd of people lining the roads ahead of her. “It’s so busy…”

She could see people move every which way suddenly, staring at their feet and shouting in either fear or anger. Lilo knew that it was Stitch causing the commotion. However, since people we’re starting to move, he was making a clear path through the crowd just for her. Flowing through the crowd like a surfer catching a wave, she weaved and cut through the path laid before, quickly reaching the slowed down Stitch.

Hearing his name, Stitch looked back, surprised to see Lilo had already caught up to him. Trying to squeeze past the last few people of the crowd, the two were even as they stopped to catch their breaths. Looking down the hills of the town, the two could see the hula dance hall just a few more blocks away. They both took a glance at each other before they suddenly took off again. Stitch was starting to pull ahead, when Lilo suddenly got a burst of energy out of nowhere. Knowing that they needed to take a left turn, Lilo quickly changed sides of the side walk breaking even with the small experiment once again, determined to take the inside of the upcoming turn.

They both ran as hard as they could, neither one willing to back down. Just before the corner of the building came, Stitch shot ahead, taking the turn first. Lilo could hear a crash and a thud as Stitch ran into someone. Worried, she slowed down her pace to turn the corner. Once on the other side she saw Stitch laying on the ground, tongue hanging out, and Keoni, who was starting to sit up rubbing his head.

“Did someone catch the number of that bus?” Keoni said, seeing stars floating around in the air.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay?” Lilo shouted, running forward.

“Yeah, I think so-“Keoni began, quickly staying his tongue once he saw Lilo run past him and go straight to Stitch. “Lilo?”

 She just ignored the surfer boy, kneeling down beside him as she helped the blue experiment sit up. “Are you okay, Stitch?”

“Ugh.” He winced at the bright light of the sun above him. Slowly adjusting to it to see the form of Lilo above him. “Gaba happened?”

“You ran into someone, silly.” She stated as she kissed the top of his head. “You must have hit your head a bit. Considering it’s you though, I’m sure you’re okay.”

Stitch shook his head a little, getting a laugh from the girl. He managed to stand up on his own as Keoni approached them. Stitch quickly apologized to him, still a little shaky from the fall.

“It’s okay, little blue dude. Just watch out where you’re going next time.”

“Ih.” Stitch said, looking over to Lilo who he expected to say something else. Rather than talk to Keoni though, she addressed Stitch immediately.

“So, think you can finish the race?” She asked, petting the top of his head.

A little dazed and confused still, Stitch nodded in agreement. “Meega good.”

The two quickly dashed off, leaving behind a confused and slightly taken a back surfer boy.

“What was that about?” He asked no one in particular. He just rubbed the back of his head and shrugged it off, continuing to make his way into town.

The rest of the race went without any hiccups. For a while it looked like Stitch was going to win, but with a burst of speed neither of them knew she had, Lilo pulled ahead at the last second. Placing her palm on the door to the studio, she quickly turned and jumped up with enthusiasm.

Stitch slowly made his way up the steps, completely shocked that he had lost. He was so sure he could ­­­­win again, and couldn’t help but curse himself for running into Keoni.

“Oketaka, yuuga win.” He said in defeat. “Gaba yuga want?”

“Hmm.” She rubbed her chin while staring off into space. In truth, she already knew what she wanted, but thought about teasing Stitch a little, making him wait in anticipation. After a few moments, she looked down at him. “Alright. I’ve made my decision.”

She got down on one knee to look him dead in the eye. “Take me out on a date. A real date. Not just us going out on the town. I want us to go to a movie, have a romantic dinner, and be just like all the other couples. Please?”

Stitch looked into her unwavering eyes, he could see that she was completely serious. Perhaps even more serious than she’s ever been.

“Oketaka. We go out on real date.”

The moment Stitch agreed, Lilo’s face began beaming. She couldn’t hold back her smile as happiness filled her. She pulled him into a crushing hug, telling him thank-you over and over again. To which he could only wince at her grip and giggle.

“Oh I can’t wait to tell Victoria.” Lilo announced as she stood up suddenly and ran into the hula building with a slight skip to her step.

Stitch stood there, thinking about what a real date would be like. They have been out to movies and gone to restaurants before. However, Stitch was always a dog to the world. They would always have to go to places that were either outside, or allowed pets. After that the other problem was paying for it all. He slumped against the wall of the building, trying to estimate the cost of it all. Sure, Lilo had a little spending money from her allowances, but that wouldn’t cover a fancy meal. _I suppose I’ll have to dip into that then. If it’s for her happiness, though, it’s worth it._

Thinking about the oncoming evening, and with a happy sigh, Stitch finally got off the wall and entered the building. Upon immediate enter, Stitch could hear a high pitched shrilling voice.

“Well look what the cat dragged in.” The wavy haired Myrtle said.

Stitch looked around for some sort of cat, but unable to see any, he just shrugged. Lilo and Victoria giggled at his silliness while he found a spot on the floor to sit on while they began their first hula lesson in the fourteen year old division.

Stitch was unable to keep his eyes off of Lilo. The entire time, every move she made completely captivated him. With every turn and shake of her hips he could see the grass skirt sway and fan out. Making a light brushing sound only he could hear, tickling him from the inside. Each step she made was light and fluid, like a river dancing around the mountain side. He traced the lines made by her hands and fingers, following them as they made circles and magnificent shapes throughout the air. He loved when she danced. He couldn’t put into words how he felt whenever he got to see her dance. The beauty she radiated when dancing could easily capture the hearts and gazes of anyone around. It didn’t matter though. Every step, every move, and every turn felt like it was made just for Stitch. The one and only thing that matched her beauty in dancing was the smile she always wore. Whenever she danced, her smile couldn’t be beat. It was always even more noticeable against the other girls who always seemed to concentrate too hard to smile. Lilo would always stand out, even more so to Stitch. Slowly, the world around him disappeared, only leaving him and Lilo. A complete isolation allowing Stitch to enjoy the beauty of his beloved. Sadly, the dance lesson was coming to a close, and Stitch would have to wait for another day to admire her like that again.

Once it was all over, Stitch stood, applauding and whistling, making Lilo giggle and blush furiously. The entire time, she was able to feel his gaze on her. Never leaving her image, and never leaving her mind. It was exciting and embarrassing at the same time. Like she wanted nothing more than to hide herself from his stare, but at the same time she was compelled to continue. She truly wanted nothing more than to please him, and she knew her dancing was always something he enjoyed. Lilo and Victoria had stayed on the stage, while Elena, Theresa, and Yuki quickly left the dance hall. Only the three girls and Stitch had remained behind.

Lilo had been talking to Victoria when Stitch made his way over. His presence instantly ending their conversation as she jumped down and picked him up, starting to twirl him around out of happiness.

“How was that, Stitch?” She asked as she pulled him into a hug.

“Yuuga butifa as always.” He replied, admiring her smile that reached ear to ear. “Yuuga know that.”

“I know.” She giggled. “But I like hearing you say it.”

Unable to contain herself, Lilo pulled Stitch into a kiss that he happily returned. It was these moments that Stitch enjoyed more than anything. The mood was quickly ended, though. As Myrtle made her way down the steps towards them.

“Did you just kiss your dog?” Myrtle asked in her annoying voice, adjusting her glasses.

“He’s not a dog!” Lilo stated, hugging him even harder like a large stuffed bear. “He’s a genetic experiment. You know that. Like Gigi.”

“He is nothing like Gigi.” She said while placing her hands on her hips. “Gigi is a beautiful and sophisticated animal. The fact that she’s one of those _things_ is completely irrelevant. That disconfigured thing however, is and always has been disgusting and weird. The fact that you’d kiss it makes you even more disgusting and weird than you were before, Weirdlo.”

Lilo put Stitch down, she could feel her blood begin to boil inside. Years of anger resurfacing once again, combining with the ferocity she felt the moment Myrtle insulted Stitch.

“He is not disgusting or weird!” She shouted with a passion that surprised both Stitch and Victoria. “He is a kind and amazing person. Far better than you will ever be! That’s why I’m in love with him.”

Myrtle began to laugh at the oncoming Lilo. Holding her stomach as she doubled over from the humor she found in the statement. “You’re in love with him?! Wow Weirdlo. You’re even weirder than I thought.”

Lilo stomped forward and raised her hand, she was completely ready to give the girl the beating of a lifetime. One that Lilo thought she deserved for all the years of torment. Before she could pounce though, she felt herself held back. She looked behind her and then down to see Stitch was the one holding her, shaking his head.

“But, Stitch.”

“Isa oketaka.” He told her. “Isa naga worth it.”

Lilo turned her back on the laughing orange haired girl, and stormed out of the building. She could still feel the anger boil inside of her as the warm island air hit her face. Stitch ran out of the closing door and was about to chase after when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Victoria kneeled down and whispered into his ear. “Let me go talk to her. I haven’t seen her in a while, and from the sounds of it I’ve missed a lot.”

Stitch nodded to her and watched her chase after Lilo instead. He sat down on the bottom step of the stair and wondered just what had set Lilo off so badly. _Sure Myrtle pushes her buttons, but this seemed like something more._

 


	7. Some Friend You Are

Victoria found Lilo a little bit away from the school, on a hill in the trees that looked over the town. She was pacing around, still clearly angry as she muttered to herself.

“Who does Myrtle think she is? Insulting Stitch like that. I should have decked her right then and there.” Lilo said as she pounded her fist into her hand. “Ugh, she just makes me so mad!”

“Lilo?” The sudden voice made Lilo jump a little. She was concentrating so much on Myrtle she didn’t even notice her brown haired friend approach her.

“Oh, Victoria, it’s you.” Lilo started trying to calm her racing heart.

“Yeah, it’s me. Are you okay?” Victoria asked, cautiously.

“No!” Lilo snapped. “Myrtle Edmonds is the bane of my existence. For years I’ve tried to get along and not hit her, not as much anyway… but no matter what I do she doesn’t change. She’ll never change!”

“I know she won’t.” There was a pause between the two. Once Victoria deemed it safe she decided to continue with her questioning. “So, you and Stitch, huh? That’s pretty exciting.”

There was an instant change in Lilo at the mention of Stitch. Her anger filled face suddenly relaxed into a blissful smile and her eyes clouded over into a dreamy stare. _Whoa. That was quick,_ Victoria had thought.

“Yeah it is. It’s been a little over a week now that we’ve been together.” Lilo said, looking off into the distance as she started to think about Stitch.

“Really?” Victoria asked, already knowing the answer. She knew that Hunkahunka’s effect would make Lilo confess. What she wasn’t sure about was if Stitch would feel the same way about her.

“Yeah. Right after you had left my party something just came over me. I just suddenly told Stitch I loved him. I haven’t come down from that feel ever since.” Lilo suddenly grabbed her friend’s hands and started jumping around in excitement. “It’s been so amazing. You can’t even imagine. He is just so caring, loving, gentle, and perfect.”

“Whoa.” Victoria was starting to get dizzy from all the jumping and spinning around. Lilo noticed and let her go, letting her catch her balance. Lilo made an apologetic look, but still couldn’t contain her excitement. “Well, I’m glad everything has been going good for you two. I imagine Stitch couldn’t be happier as well?”

Lilo hesitated in her answer. Victoria questioned this and wondered what had made her suddenly look a bit saddened. “He’s been happy.”

“But?”

“…” Lilo sighed before continuing. “But sometimes he gets this distant look in his eye. Not a day dreamy look or anything like that.” Lilo leaned up against a nearby tree and held herself. “It seems like there’s always something eating him at the back of his mind, and he’s not talking about it. I asked him about it last night but he said there wasn’t anything wrong.”

“You don’t believe him though, do you?”

“I’ve known him for a long time now. I can tell when he’s lying.” Lilo looked down at her feet, digging the toe of her sandal into the ground. “Maybe I’m just imagining things?”

Victoria walked over and put her hand on Lilo’s shoulder. “Hey, cheer up. If it was something important I’m sure he would tell you. He loves you after all right?”

Lilo gave a weak smile as she remembered all the fun they had the past week. “Yeah. You’re right. I’m just being silly. We’re actually going on a date tonight. A real one. Like, dinner and a movie and everything.”

“That’ll be fun.” Victoria saw that Lilo was starting to feel better and more like herself. _I guess now is a good a time as any._ “So why did you get so mad?”

“It’s because she insulted Stitch.” She replied dryly.

“Well yeah, but that’s not really anything new. Myrtle’s always doing what she can to be mean.” Victoria tried to keep eye contact with her, but Lilo shrugged her hand off and turned away.

“Stitch is the most amazing creature in all the world.” Sharp angry tones riddled the usually cheering girl’s words. “No one will say otherwise. If anyone does, they’ll get what’s coming to them.”

 _Whoa. She’s really serious about that._ Victoria was slightly scared. This was different than the usual sudden passionate anger she showed. “A-alright, Lilo. You’re right. She had what was coming to her, but Stitch was right to hold you back.”

“Stitch.” Lilo’s shoulders dropped down as she gave a deep sigh. She turned around suddenly, smile wide across her face again. “You’re right, he was. We would have gotten into trouble, and that wouldn’t be good.”

 _Okay. These mood swings are getting out of hand. Something’s wrong here._ “Anyway. I’m glad to see you and Stitch are finally together.”

“Yeah. It’s been really wonderful.”

“I guess the whole thing with Hunkahunka paid off.”

“What do you mean?” Lilo raised an eyebrow out of confusion.

“The thing with…” Victoria trailed off as everything became clear. _She doesn’t know?_ _She’s still under his spell! That explains everything. Then that means Stitch never broke the spell… but wait, there’s no way she went a full week without water splashing her in the face. Even if she didn’t go surfing any shower or bath would have done that._ “Um. I heard that his dating service is really booming these days. It’s pretty nice for him.”

“Oh really? Yeah it is.”

Victoria needed to get some answers now, and Lilo wouldn’t be able to give them to her. “I’m gonna go get Stitch now. He’s been waiting. That okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll wait here.”

Victoria ran off quickly as Lilo slumped against the tree again with a deep sigh. Thoughts of Stitch filling her mind, making her all giddy. Once she reached the experiment patiently waiting, she immediately began questioning him hard. Angry that he would keep Lilo under the spell for so long. Stitch stood up and began explaining himself. He told her that the spell hasn’t been broken despite her actually being splashed in the face with water. He even told her about how he questioned Angel and Reuben about it and what they had said to him. Afterwards they stood, staring at each other in silence. Victoria could see the pain, confusion, worry, and sadness on Stitch’s face. _So that’s probably what’s been bugging him._

“Meega the worst.” Stitch said finally, breaking the girl’s trance.

“What do you mean?”

Stitch took a deep sigh as he fell back to the bottoms step. “Meega should have figured out a cure right away, instead meega been going on dates with her. Isa been a week. Meega been taking advantage of Lilo.”

“You haven’t been taking advantage of her.” Victoria started talking before thinking about what she was saying. “For a long time she’s been-“She stopped suddenly, bringing her hands up to her mouth.

“Lilo’s been?”

She brought her hands down slowly. “I can’t say.”

“Why not?” Stitch asked, starting to notice people haven’t been telling him everything lately. “Meega worried sick over this. Gaba yuuga and Angel not telling meega?”

“I’m sorry. I promised.”

Stitch jumped up, he could feel his blood begin to boil. _They know something. They all do. I need to know, now. I can’t handle this anymore._ “Who did yuuga promise?”

Stitch waited for a response, but instead saw Victoria look away from him. “Who!?” He yelled.

Victoria cringed at his voice. She looked back at him and got down on one knee. Grabbing his shoulders to keep him in place, she could feel his anger make him tremble beneath her touch. “I’m sorry, Stitch. I can’t tell you. Angel can’t either. I wish I could help, and I’m sorry I was a part of this. I just wanted to see you two happy together.”

Stitch wasn’t backing down this time. He was in no mood for games or question dodging. His eyes narrowed into thin slits, ready to ask again, demanding answers. Right before he got his chance to retaliate, a voice broke in from behind Victoria.

“What’s taking you guys so-“Lilo began as she approached them. Her voice gave out when she saw them together. Victoria on one knee holding Stitch, who was clearly upset at her, in place. Jealousy took control over her as she stomped forward and grabbed Stitch’s wrist, pulling him out of her grasp.

“L-Lilo.” Victoria stuttered. “I-I was just-“

“Trying to steal my boyfriend?” Lilo shot at her, angrier than when Myrtle had upset her earlier. “Some friend you are.” Stitch could feel the vice like grip Lilo had on him. “If you don’t mind, my _boyfriend_ and I have a date to get to.” Lilo didn’t wait for a response, instead she just took Stitch and started off towards town. The only way Stitch would get out of her grasp would be by hurting Lilo, and that’s something he would never do. He let himself get lead away, seeing jealousy and anger in Lilo that he didn’t want to have directed to himself.

“W-wait!” Victoria called out. However, her words fell upon deaf ears. She took a step forward, ready to chase after them, but saw Lilo look back at her, her gaze like a piercing dagger. She held back and watched the two walk away. “I really messed this up.” She put her hands in her pockets and kicked up some dirt before heading home.

Stitch stated thinking to himself. _Victoria…Reuben… Angel… They all know something, but none of them will tell me. I can’t make them tell me. I guess it’s just me._ With a sigh he decided to push it out of his mind for now. What really mattered was to make Lilo happy.

“Isa time for date, right Lilo?” Stitch asked with a smile.

In an instant, Lilo’s face changed from anger to excitement. “Really? We can have it right now?”

“Ih. Meega just need to grab something from house.” He let his hand slide from her loosening grip. “Yuuga wait right here, meega be right back.”

“Okay!” She yelled as he ran home on all fours. Looking around for a place to wait she decided to hop onto a nearby bench, enjoying the sights and sounds of the island.

 

It didn’t take long for Stitch to reach the house. Rather than going through the house, he decided to climb the outside to reach the dome room, not wanting to run into anyone along the way. Knowing he was safe, he opened the round window and jumped inside, leaping to his cot. Underneath he pushed a small indentation and slid a small section of the metal to the side. Reaching as far as he could, his hand patted around as it looked for what he desired. After a few moments he finally felt the texture of velvety bag and pulled it out. In his hands was a purple velvet bag the size of his arm, laced closed with a yellow string.

“I was hoping to save this.” He muttered as he undid the string. “But isa for Lilo. Isa worth it.”

Opening the bag up, he quickly reached into the wads of money. Some crumpled and some folded, and a variety of different bills, it was a fine collection of savings. Counting how much he would need in total, he grabbed a few twenty dollar bills. Just enough to make a hundred.

“There, allanet for movie, and allanet for dinner.” He grinned mischievously and returned the bag, tied once again, to its secret compartment. Hiding the money with one of his hidden arms, he made his way out of the room and quickly started heading towards Lilo once again.

 

Meanwhile, Lilo was waiting exactly where Stitch had left her. She was told to wait there, and no force in the world would be capable of moving her. The entire time she was day dreaming about Stitch. Wanting nothing more than for him to be beside her at that very moment. She was so caught up in her imaginings that she didn’t realize that someone had actually sat down beside her and was trying to talk to her.

“Hello?” The voice asked, slightly annoyed. “Can you even hear me?”

Suddenly, a hand obstructed Lilo’s view, snapping her out of her day dream. She looked over and saw Keoni looking very confused. “Oh, hey Keoni. I didn’t see you there.”

“Clearly.” He replied with a chuckle. “What’s got you so preoccupied?”

“I was just thinking about Stitch.” Saying his name with a dreamy sigh.

Keoni rubbed the back of his head, remembering the fall earlier from when Stitch barged into him. “Yeah, heehee. I’ve been thinking about him too.” Lilo didn’t respond to his statement. She was barely paying any attention to him at all, in fact. It was starting to annoy him a little, he wasn’t used to being ignored by her.

“So anyway, Lilo.” He said while wrapping his arm around her. “I was thinking, since it doesn’t look like you’re doing anything right now, how about you and me go catch a movie or something.”

“No thanks.” She said flatly.

“Great, how about-“he stopped midsentence, unsure if he had just heard correctly. “Wait. Did you just say no?”

“Yeah.”

“But you never say no.” Keoni was completely baffled. While never really having feelings for Lilo, he still enjoyed all the attention she’d give him over the years. Of course he could tell she had a crush on him. Sure, it died down for a while, but he never thought she’d ever say ‘no’ to a date with him.

“I’m just not interested, Keoni. I’ve got somebody in my life, and I’ve loved him for a long time now.” He could hear the tenderness in her voice.

“R-really? Well, but, um.” He didn’t know what to say, he’d never seen her with another guy before. “Who is it?”

She was about to answer when Stitch finally appeared, trying to catch his breath, he didn’t notice the surfer boys arm held tightly around Lilo’s shoulder.

“Soka-it-took-so-long.” He said through gasps for air. “Meega ran fast as meega could.” Not wanting to leave Lilo alone for long, he ran faster and harder than he ever did before. Tiring out his small body.

“It wasn’t long at all, boojiboo. You ready to go?” Lilo asked as she jumped up from the bench, causing Keoni to fall forward a bit before catching himself.

“Ih. Aloha, Keoni.” Stitch said as he took Lilo’s hand and they made their way down the street, eager to start their date.

“Wait a second!” Keoni called out. “You didn’t tell me who it was!” He saw them quickly cross the street, and disappear around the corner, completely out of sight. “Huh.” A little annoyed, he grabbed his skateboard and with a small run threw it ahead of him and jumped on. Letting the force of his throw propel him, he thought about what Lilo had said.

“’Boojiboo?’ What did Jam say that meant again?” He kept thinking about it, feeling like he missed something important in the conversation. “Oh yeah! Ohhhhhhh.” It finally dawned on him what had happened. “Way to go, little blue dude.” He said with a chuckle. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”

 

Meanwhile, Victoria was in her room alone, her only company was her small companion Snooty. She sat on her bed with her back against the wall, huddled up with her knees to her chest. “I really messed up.”

She wiped a steady flow of tears from her eyes as she used her free hand to pet the back of Snooty’s head, receiving a small purr from the treatment he was enjoying. “I may have just lost my best friend Snooty. What do you think I should do?”

He looked at her with concerned eyes, wishing he could say something to make her feel better. She started to sniff as her sinuses began filling up from her crying. Snooty jumped on her face and sucked out all the mucus for her, allowing her to breathe again.

“Thanks.” She said with a weak smile. “I know you’ll always be there for me. I guess all I can do is be there for her, and hope she’ll listen to me.”

Snooty nodded and cuddled up against her legs, loving the feeling as her hand returned to petting him. _I just have to explain what happened._ She could feel the tears start to come back. _Please let me explain what happened._

 


	8. A Normal Couple

Lilo sat in the movie theater, staring at the screen. Images and sound rushed by her, and despite paying as much attention to it as she could, she retained nothing of what she saw or heard. All of her thoughts were occupied by the small form of Stitch sitting to the left of her. Nearly impossible to see, she would constantly steal glances at him. Every time the screen went bright, a clear outline would illuminate his form, sending her heart into a frenzy. She didn’t know why her heart would beat so hard. It started the moment Stitch picked her up from the bench. She had now been Stitch’s girlfriend for a week, and suddenly something switched on in her head at that moment. _We’re on a date. A real date. A romance movie date._ Her mind was nearly running at a mile a minute. _It’s okay, Lilo. Calm down. You’ve been to the movie lots of times with Stitch. Just because you weren’t with him with him at the time doesn’t change anything. We are just a normal couple, watching a normal movie._

She took a drink of her cola, freezing suddenly at the sensation of Stitch’s fur brushing her arm. A shiver went down her spine at his touch. Slowly, over the course of the week, her mind became more and more occupied with Stitch. Every touch from him would send her head, heart, and body into a frenzy. _It’s completely normal. Right? We’ve just started dating, of course things will feel a little different. Of course I would only be thinking about him._

She remembered one thing about the romance movies that she didn’t think about before. The kiss. The couple would always kiss in the theater. In the safety of darkness. Starting with the boy, pretending to yawn, he would wrap his arm around the girl. She would look at him, and him at her. Then, like a force that couldn’t be broken, they would get closer and closer together until their lips met.

Lilo looked around the room. Eye’s trying to make out as many shapes as she could. They were near the back, and from what she could remember before the lights dimmed and from the few shapes she could make out, it appeared that the theater was just under halfway full. At the very least no one was paying attention to them. The second she realized it, her heart sped up even more. Lilo was sure that Stitch could hear her heart beating, but he made no sign of it. She could feel her face glow with her increasing heat and was glad that it was too dark to see it properly. _Why am I so embarrassed?_ _We’ve kissed tons of times now. Never in such a public setting before, though._ Lilo didn’t care about the public displays of affection. She would proudly declare her love at the top of her lungs if necessary. However, the atmosphere, the ideas, the classic setting. It was all creating a tension as she waited painstakingly for the moment Stitch made his move. She began to crave it more and more as time went by.

Stitch was enjoying his date with Lilo. It was a relief to get to spend time with her without worrying about the issues at hand. On his way back from the house, he decided that he would spend this date without worry. That he would make the entire time the best he could. Because once it was over, he had to finally start doing what he could to get his old Lilo back. Every so often he would look out of the corner of his eye at his girlfriend. He didn’t risk using his night vision in fear of being spotted, but even in the darkness her beauty lit up the room to him.

He tried to shift himself closer, feeling his arm brush up against hers, making him nervous again. _Why am I so nervous?_ He stole another look as the screen grew bright, catching her looking at him in the process. They both looked away as quickly as they could, hiding their red faces from each other. _Calm down, Stitch. It’s just Lilo. Nothing to be nervous about._ He could feel his heart race in his chest and he could hear it pounding in his ears. _Is she feeling all of this too, I wonder?_

 _He looked at me._ Lilo thought, playing with her hair excessively. _He caught me looking at him! Will he think I’m weird?_

 _The movie will be over soon. I didn’t make any move. Would she be disappointed?_ Stitch mulled over Lilo’s actions the past little while. How she was very giddy to go to a movie together. How she picked to sit so far in the back when normally she enjoyed the middle. _Yes, she would. How do they do it in those movies?_ He thought hard about his actions. He couldn’t simply ask her to kiss, he needed to show her that he wanted to.

Lilo was still completely embarrassed about being caught staring at him. She felt herself freeze completely when she heard Stitch yawn. _Is it happening?_ A warm arm wrapped around her waist, holding her strong. She could feel it tremble slightly against her, and she was finally able to move again. _It’s happening._ She looked over at Stitch, finding his eyes locked onto hers. This time they didn’t look away. Just like in the movies, a force drew them together. Neither one of them moved on their own, but they found themselves unable to pull away. Slowly, their faces got ever closer together, to the point that they could feel each other’s breath mix together before them. A slight pause was shared between the two, and then their lips finally met.

It was a completely different feeling than before. It held just as much passion and love as every kiss of theirs shared. However, this one was filled with a hidden excitement. They had never been around people when they shared a tender passion filled moment before. Only sharing quick kisses out in public, this was far from what they were used to. Something about the whole situation made the entire moment that more exciting. At any moment they could be spotted, and they truly didn’t care. All the other people no longer existed to them. Lilo’s heart began to race more and more as Stitch pulled her in deeper. Disappointed that she could no longer get closer to him, due to the arm rest between them, she pulled him out of his seat and on her lap. Never once did their kiss break throughout the entire shifting of positions. She fell back into her seat, letting Stitch lean over her slightly as he ran his fingers down her arm, sending the shivers she loved throughout her body. Several minutes of bliss passed before they finally started to slow their kissing down. After a few moments, their lips parted and Stitch rested his forehead against hers as he caught his breath.

The rest of the movie, Stitch sat on Lilo’s lap. It made it more difficult to watch the movie, but they would rather be close than pay attention anyway. Once the lights came on and the credits began to roll, they quickly dashed out of the theater. Energy still pumped through their bodies and they needed some way to let it escape. Stitch led the way as they weaved through pedestrians on the sidewalks, almost knocking a few people over but not stopping in any way.

Once they were a few blocks away from the theater they finally stopped, chests rising and falling from the hard and sudden run.

“That was amazing.” Lilo said, remembering back to the kiss they shared in the darkness.

“Ih.” Stich replied, face turning red once again.

“We need to do that more often.” She saw him turning a bright shade of magenta out of the corner of her eye. Suppressing a giggle, she saw him still smile despite the ever apparent blush on his face. “It felt really good.”

She slumped against the way behind them, slowly falling to the ground. She stretched her legs out, sore from the run. “We sat for so long my legs started falling asleep.”

Stitch rested up beside her, rubbing the leg closest to him to help stretch out the muscle. “Better?”

“Much. Thank you.”

“Anything for yuuga.” He continued his rubbing, making sure that his Lilo would be fine. “Gaba we do now?”

“I’m not sure.” She thought for a moment, still enjoying the feeling of his light massage. “What else do couples do on dates?”

The sun was starting to get low in the sky, signifying the days end approaching. Despite this, they were determined not to head home until as late as possible. Being a teenager now, Nani allowed Lilo to be out later than she used to. With Stitch with her, they had nothing to worry about as well.

“Well we could-“Stitch began right before his stomach started to rumble.

“Heehee.” Lilo smiled and giggled at him. “Getting hungry now?”

“Ih.” Stitch replied, rather embarrassed.

“We should probably go eat then, shouldn’t we?”

Stitch nodded his head in agreement. “Where yuuga want to go?”

Lilo looked up and down the street. Trying to both figure out what she would like, and what’s nearby for them. “I’m not sure…I just want to be with you.”

With the decision now on Stitch, he instantly knew what he wanted to pick. _Something rather fitting, if I do say so myself._ “Meega know where.”

“Oh? Where are we going?”

Stitch shook his head. “Isa surprise.”

Lilo didn’t know where Stitch was leading her. He just took her hand and she let herself get dragged away. Her eyes didn’t once leave Stitch. The world could have been exploding around her and she wouldn’t have noticed. All that mattered to her was that Stitch was there with her, and she was with him. After walking a few blocks, they had finally reached their destination. It was a new luau restaurant that had opened up on the edge of town. Overlooking the beach and ocean it was more meant for tourists. However, it allowed a nice romantic setting that was perfect for an evening outside under the stars.

The two found some difficulty getting into the restaurant. The girl at the front was absolutely set on not letting animals in, despite Stitch clearly not being an animal to Lilo. Before she could lose her temper again, the manager had come over to see the problem. Upon discovering that it was Lilo and Stitch, he instantly let them through and gave them the best seat in the establishment, a nice table that gave a perfect view of the stage and the ocean. During their adventures a few years ago, they helped the man with an experiment problem. He kept saying he was indebted to them, but they didn’t really understand why. They were just doing their jobs.

After their order was finally taken, the two sat as close together as they could and watched the show. The low orange glow of the sun bathed everything in a warm hue. The ocean itself rivaling the fire of the torches.

“I can’t believe it was Mr. Robinson that started this place up.” Lilo said, looking out onto the ocean.

“Ih. We haven’t seen him since Putdown was activated.”

Lilo felt a shudder crawl through her body at the memory. “Ugh. Don’t remind me.”

“Soka.” Stitch replied with a giggle. “It was really nice of him to let us in.”

“Well you should be allowed anywhere. With all you’ve done for the planet.”

Stitch could feel the gaze and odd looks from the others around them. He wasn’t sure if it was just because he was an “animal” sitting at the table, or if it was because he had is arm around Lilo. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the waiters and waitresses whispering amongst themselves. Once he turned his head to look at them, they suddenly stopped and turned away. With a great sigh he looked back to Lilo, seeing the sparkle in her eye.

“Why did you pick this place anyway?” Lilo hadn’t been to a place like this in a long time.

“The first supper we have together was at a luau. Meega thought it would be nice to do it again for our first date.”

 Lilo looked down at him, and gave him a kiss, melting all of his troubles away.

“This is perfect.” She whispered. “Thank you so much for this.”

“Meega do anything for yuuga.”

The two continued their conversation until their food finally arrived. Lilo could also feel the stares of the crowd, but she didn’t care. _Keep looking. None of you get to be with the most amazing person in the galaxy._ She smirked to herself as she ate her meal, feeling proud that she was with Stitch. Nothing could ruin the high she felt right then.

“I didn’t ask before, Stitch.” Lilo began, letting Stitch swallow the food in his mouth before continuing. “But, how are you affording all of this?”

“Gaba yuuga mean?” Stitch asked nervously. He was hoping to keep his cache of money a secret, and he had hoped that Lilo wouldn’t question how he was paying for everything.

“Well you’ve spent almost a hundred dollars on us already. Neither one of us has a job. Sure the United Galactic Federation gives me a little money for being Ambassador, but where did you get yours?”

Stitch mulled it over in his mind, deciding it best not to keep it a secret from her any longer. “Meega actually has lots of money.”

“What? More than what you’ve spend tonight?”

“Lots more.” He replied, a little proud of himself.

“How much exactly?”

“A few thousand.” Lilo dropped her fork, the clang attracting the attention of those around them. She never imagined Stitch could have so much money. Maybe a couple hundred from how he was spending it tonight, but she never imagined it would be in the thousands.

“Meega been saving it for something special.”

“If you’ve been saving it, why spend some of it tonight then?”

“Because yuuga isa special.” He said with the most loving smile she had ever seen.

She felt herself grow quiet again. She was flattered and embarrassed at the same time. Stitch had gone back to eating, but Lilo couldn’t move. She knew she meant a lot to Stitch, but with everything that had happened that night she was finally seeing just how far he would go for her. He saved so much money, and was willing to just spend it on her. It was just to spend time with her too, he didn’t buy anything fancy, just diner and a movie. She slowly went back to eating, still confused as to how he managed to make so much money.

“Where did you get it all?” She finally asked.

“Meega do odd jobs for people. When yuuga at school or busy, naga nota gaba to do. So meega started doing odd jobs. People started offering money for it. At first meega didn’t let them, but soon they insist. Meega been saving ever since.” Lilo listened intently to him. She had no idea that he had been doing this. _Even after saving the planet he still kept doing things for people._ Stitch snickered to himself. “Meega at first thought isa good way to keep goodness level up. Then meega think meega can put it towards something. Now meega nota gaba spend it on. Yuuga.”

“That’s really sweet, Stitch.” She felt her cheeks start to flush again. “But I can’t let you spend it all on me though.”

“Naga. Meega spend it on _us.”_ Lilo loved the way he said ‘us.’ It had such a beautiful ring to it. All her doubts of Stitch’s worries washed away from her. _This must be what he was so distant about. I was so silly to worry over it._ She knew now that Stitch truly loved her more than anything, all the signs that something was wrong in the past week were gone from her mind.

They continued their meal and conversation throughout the evening. After a little while Lilo had ordered dessert for them, not worrying about the cost of it all. The sun had long since set, and now the ocean was a lit with the sparkling of the stars. The luau was slowly emptying, but kept shows going late into the night. Stitch didn’t know what was more beautiful. The view, the shows, or Lilo. _Of course it’s Lilo._

Without thinking to, the two cuddled close together in their seat. The odd looks had long since stopped, and now the waiters and waitresses actually started finding them cute. Stitch was starting to see that people could accept them. Could accept him. He wasn’t an animal or a person. He was himself, and Lilo loved him for that. He grabbed onto her waist tighter, pulling her attention on him. She smiled her heartwarming smile, and Stitch moved some hair that had fallen in front of her face. They didn’t know who initiated it, and it truly didn’t matter. The two shared a tender kiss in the moonlight. The warm glows of the tiki torches all around them, and the distant sound of waves rolling against the shore. It was truly a beautiful moment. Both Lilo and Stitch wished that it would have lasted a little longer.

“See! I told you.” Came a high pitched voice from behind them.

“Eeeeeeewwww.” Chorused slowly after, completely shattering the mood.


	9. What Is Wrong With Me?

The voices shattered the moment like glass. Stitch couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Hoping, more than anything that he had just imagined it, he found that he wasn’t, by the immediate chorus that soon followed the voice. _Why here? Why now?_ Stitch turned around to find that all four of Lilo’s ‘friends’ were right behind them, completely shocked by the kiss the two had just shared.

Trying her best not to ruin the evening, Lilo kept calm, despite already feeling the anger boil inside her. “Hey guys.” She said with a nervous wave. “What are you doing here?”

“What are we doing here?” Teresa asked, her face twisting into that of disgust.

“You were kissing your dog.” Elena said, sticking her tongue out like she had just tasted something awful.

“For the last time guys.” Lilo began. She was tired of Stitch not getting addressed like the amazing person he is. “He is not a dog. He is an illegal genetic experiment from space living here as a part of my ohana.”

“See? She’s crazy.” Myrtle said behind her hand, despite making sure Lilo could hear it.

Stitch could see the fire light in Lilo’s eyes. “I’m not crazy! Myrtle, you know the truth.”

The other three girls looked to her leader. She took a step back, a guilty look drawn across her face. “I-I have no idea what she’s talking about.”

“Ugh. Show them Stitch.” She said to him, tired of all the hiding they had to do. At the sound of his name, Stitch’s head shot up, he wasn’t sure if suddenly telling them he wasn’t from Earth was the best course of action. “Stitch!”

With a sigh, he stood up, the eyes of the three girls watching his every move. He quickly revealed his real form, letting out his hidden arms, the spines on his back, and the antenna on his head. No one was around or paying attention to them, so he wouldn’t be discovered by the general populace. He saw the girl’s mouths drop in complete shock.

“Um. Hi?” He said with a nervous chuckle.

The moment he spoke the girls screamed, grabbing on to each other. The complete opposite reaction Lilo gave the first time he had spoken to her. The sudden outburst drew the attention of Mr. Robinson, who quickly made his way over to them. Stitch quickly retracted his alien appendages, not wanting more screams to arise.

“What is going on over here?” The man asked, looking between the five girls and Stitch. “Myrtle, I let you and your friends in here to enjoy the show because I’m good friends with your father. I did not let you in here to cause a ruckus and disturb my guests.”

“I’m disturbing no one.” She said triumphantly. “We were about to be attacked by this freak of a dog! Weren’t we girls?”

The three didn’t speak, still coming down for the sudden change Stitch had shown.

“Was Stitch about to attack them, Lilo?” Mr. Robinson asked, completely skeptical that that was about to happen. He always had known Stitch as one of the most well behaved creatures he had ever met. Especially when helping him with his animal problem before.

“Stitch would never do that.” She told him with pleading eyes.

“Oh puh-lease. You’re going to believe her?” Myrtle said, stepping forward again.

“Myrtle.” Lilo strained her name through clenched teeth. “Don’t you dare say another word.” Mr. Robinson and the girls were completely surprised by the tone Lilo held. She sounded ready and willing to take on an army if they had threatened her.

“She’s completely weird, and doing strange things all the time!” Myrtle continued, completely unaware of the warning that had been laid out for her. “She makes strange things up all the time, lying about all these things she’s done.”

“You know it’s all true!” Lilo shot at her, having trouble holding back anymore. It had been a long time since she had lashed out, and the orange haired girl wasn’t making it difficult to find a reason to do it again. She started stepping forward, stopping only by feeling Stitch’s hand hold her back.

Myrtle continued her insulting of the couple, not willing to stop until she had them kicked out of the luau. “Not to mention her disgusting dog. Look at it. I can’t imagine any of the other guests being able to eat with it in their presence. Really, I can’t believe you would let such animal riffraff in here.”

Lilo’s hand was out of Stitch’s before he knew it. Rage filled Lilo’s entire building, she had heard the girl insult her boyfriend for the last time. “That’s it!” She shouted, leaping at Myrtle, sending them into a tumble across the floor. It felt good to finally let her anger out on the deserving ‘friend.’ On top, Lilo started to bash her fists and arms into the screaming and struggling girl beneath her. Myrtle was able to do little, other than basically wait for either Lilo to stop, or for someone to save her.

Teresa, Elena, and Yuki were already gone. The moment they saw Lilo leap at their leader, they knew that it had gone too far. They also didn’t want to be around Stitch any more than they had too, not sure what he could be capable of.

The large man picked up Lilo off of the cowering girl. “Lilo.” He said with a sigh. Lilo’s heart was still racing from the anger that reached her core. “I’m sorry. No matter what you have done for me in the past, I cannot condone this behavior in my luau.”

“What?” Lilo asked, finally coming back to her senses.

“I’m going to have to ask you two to leave.”

Lilo looked to Stitch, completely devastated by what she had caused. She never wanted them to get kicked out. She didn’t want their date to be ruined. However, she couldn’t sit back and listen to Myrtle anymore, she needed to do something and she just couldn’t control herself. Stitch gave her a reassuring smile, one that would normally make her feel better, but instead it only made her feel guiltier. Stitch took her hand and lead her out of the establishment. Lilo looked back to see Myrtle, standing triumphantly, sticking her tongue out at her. The only upside was that the girl was immediately getting scolded by Mr. Robinson for causing all of the commotion.

Once outside, Stitch saw that the three girls were still there, at the sight of him, they cowered back. _Is this how I will be treated? Will everyone be afraid of me?_ The two started walking away, until Lilo saw the look of despair come over his face. Thinking it was because she had lashed out, she immediately felt worse and began to apologize.

“I’m so sorry, Stitch.” She said as she got down on her knees. “You must be so disappointed in me.”

“Huh?” Lilo pulled him into a hug, which he hesitantly returned.

“You spent your hard earned savings on me and I completely ruined the night.”

“Yuuga naga ruin night. Stupid head ruined night.”

She pulled herself back, wiping the tears that were starting to form from her eyes. “I shouldn’t have lashed out like that though. I should have just ignored her.”

“Isa oketaka.” He told her, resting his forehead against hers. “We just need to avoid stupid heads.”

“Yeah. You’re right.” She said, halfheartedly. _Why did I attack her like that? It’s just like earlier._ The two were engrossed in their thoughts and in their embrace, not noticing the footsteps slowly approaching them. _I haven’t lashed out like that in years. It was like I couldn’t control my body._

L-Lilo?” A voice from behind her asked. Stitch looked up and found that the three girls had approached them. The moment he moved, they flinched. “Y-your dog isn’t going to attack us right?”

“He’s not a dog.” Elena whispered to her.

“Stitch is an illegal genetic experiment.” Lilo stated again as she turned to the group. “He, and all the other ‘different’ animals here were created to cause destruction. I was able to turn Stitch good though, when we were kids. Then he helped me turn all of his cousins good.”

“So he won’t attack?” Teresa asked again.

“No. Stitch is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met.”

Stitch started to feel better, he could see that they were starting to calm down from Lilo’s words. _Maybe people won’t fear me after all._

“And that’s why you kissed him?” Yuki asked innocently. She was clearly more intrigued and accepting of the whole alien concept.

“We kissed because we’re in love.” Lilo said with a smile. “Isn’t that right, Stitch?”

“Ih.” Stitch didn’t know how, but Lilo had managed to do it again. Keeping people calm and accepting of others was a gift that maybe only she had. “We butifa in love. Meega love Lilo for a long time.”

Before the three girls could continue their questioning, Myrtle called them from the entrance to the luau. In fear of what she might do, they quickly left Lilo and Stitch alone. No one said a word, only listening to Myrtle complain about getting scolded. The entire way to her house, she didn’t once stop talking about what had happened. She especially brought up the new level of weirdness Lilo had reached by being in love with Stitch. Teresa, Elena, and Yuki continued to keep quiet. They had a lot to think about considering alien life had just been sprung on them, and that the animals on their island were actually genetic experiments. After Myrtle left them to go home, the three of them finally talked amongst themselves about everything that had happened while they themselves started making their way home.

“So aliens are real…huh…” Yuki said, looking up at the stars.

“I knew it.” Elena whispered.

“And Stitch isn’t actually a dog, he could even talk this whole time.”

“You know. It actually makes a lot of sense.” Teresa added. “I mean, thinking all the things that have happened over the years.”

“Yeah. I guess Lilo isn’t crazy after all. She’s even in love.” Yuki said dreamily.

“He’s still her pet.” Teresa said. “Experiment or whatever she said he is, he will still be a dog to me.”

“Yeah. It’s really weird.” Elena added. “He’s not even human.”

“I don’t know. I think they’re kinda cute together.” Announced Yuki suddenly. The two just gave her a weird look as they stopped walking. “What? They are.” The other two walked away from her, shaking their heads. _Well they are._

The rest of the evening, Lilo continued to feel guilty. Even though Stitch reassured her that it wasn’t her fault, she still felt like she had caused the whole thing. Despite it being well past her bed time, she still couldn’t sleep. Stitch had fallen asleep long ago, which is something she wasn’t used to. Normally she would fall asleep before him. Being alone in the darkness, the only thing she could hear was the light breathing of her boojiboo beside her. _What is wrong with me?_ She thought about everything that had happened today. First she nearly attacked Myrtle, then she got extremely jealous and mad at Victoria. _Why do I feel like this?_ Despite not wanting to be angry at her friend, every time she thought about catching Victoria holding Stitch, she couldn’t help but feel her blood boil. _This just isn’t like me, I don’t hold grudges…at least not against anyone but Myrtle._ Thinking about her orange haired antagonist didn’t still the fire in her. Despite being older now, Myrtle never did grow up and stop her insults. Lilo thought she had matured more in the past few years. _I guess I was wrong about that._

Unable to sleep, and feeling worse the more she thought about it, she decided to get up and get something to drink. She got up out of bed carefully, not wanting to disturb the slumbering Stitch. Once she was off of the lift, Lilo immediately headed for the kitchen, not noticing a soft glow coming from the living room. Drink in hand she stood at the kitchen window, staring out at the night sky. _It looks so different now._ It didn’t have the same beauty it did mere hours ago. Suddenly the dark sky just looked like that, dark. She took a sip from her cup of water, not realizing how parched she actually felt. The cool liquid felt good going down her dry throat. She continued looking out onto the island for a while, not paying attention to the passage of time. Still not feeling tired, she went to put the empty glass in the sink. As soon as she turned around, she bumped into some dishes, making a loud clang as she scrambled to grab them before they all broke. Thankfully, she managed to grab them all. Standing there with dishes almost falling out of her arms, the light to the kitchen popped on, Nani was standing at the entrance to the living room.

“Lilo? Sweetie, what are you doing?” Nani asked, a little bewildered at the sight before her.

“Just putting away a glass.” Lilo said, a little strained. She couldn’t move, or else the dishes would fall.

“Here. Let me help you.” Nani grabbed the dishes out of Lilo’s arms, stacking them nicely on the counter again. “You gotta be more careful.”

“I know. I just wasn’t paying attention, lost in thought.” Nani could hear the sadness hang in her little sister’s voice. It wasn’t often that Lilo would be sad about anything. Not since Stitch had shown up all those years ago.

“Is it something I can help with?”

Lilo thought it over for a moment. _Maybe talking about it would make me feel better._ Lilo nodded her head as she was looking at the floor. Nani petted the back of Lilo’s head, giving the top of it a kiss. “Come. Let’s go sit in the living room and you can talk.”

For the first time in what felt like forever, they were talking like sisters again. Nani missed the days when she could help Lilo with her problems. Once aliens were involved, they moved out of her fields of expertise, but she still helped however she could. She was relieved to find that Lilo was actually dealing with regular problems. Life problems, no aliens, no illegal experiments involved, except for Stitch. Nani felt like she might actually be able to help for once. Nani sat on the couch, opposite of Lilo as she explained what had happened that day.

Lilo had explained the ordeal with Victoria. The entire time, Nani found it strange that Lilo’s best friend would ever do that to her.

“Are you sure that’s what was happening?” Nani asked in disbelief.

“Mhmm.” She replied nodding her head. “That’s all it could have been. You should have seen how she had her hands on him. I’m sure she was about to kiss him.”

“And did you ask her what was actually happening?”

“I accused her, but of course she would deny it.”

“Lilo.” Nani said, sympathetically. “She’s your best friend, do you really think she would try to steal, Stitch from you?”

Lilo wanted to say no. She wanted to say she trusts Victoria, but something in her wouldn’t let her. Something in her was making her angry at her friend for laying a hand on her Stitch. “I just can’t forgive her.”

Nani sighed in response. “I guess it will take some time. You should talk to her though.”

Lilo nodded her head slightly, not making eye contact. She didn’t feel like she could do that, but she would try for Nani. After that, Lilo then regrettably told Nani what had happened at the luau between her and Myrtle.

“I thought you were passed that, Lilo.” Nani scolded her disappointedly, crossing her arms.

“I did too. I don’t know what came over me.” Lilo flopped onto the couch, laying on her back. “It was weird. Suddenly I just felt this rage once she insulted Stitch. I couldn’t hold myself back.”

“Hmm.” _That is a bit odd._ Nani thought. “Well, she has always been good at pushing your buttons. You need to be the better person though.”

“I know.” She covered her eyes with her arm. “It’s hard. All I wanted was a nice night with Stitch. Then she just had to go and ruin it.”

Nani smiled from Lilo’s words. Her love for Stitch was really strong. She had seen it start to grow over the years, wondering when they would finally get together. Truthfully, it happened sooner that she had expected. “It’ll be okay, sweetie. You’ll have other nights with him.”

“You’re not mad at me?”

Nani put her hand on Lilo’s knee. “Of course not. I love you, Lilo. I’m your big sister, you’re just experiencing new things. I went through the exact same things when I was your age.”

“Really?” Lilo asked, pulling her arm away to look at her sister.

“Really. Feel better now?”

“A bit.” Lilo told her. She did feel a bit better after the talk, she felt like she might even be able to get to sleep. She was glad Nani wasn’t mad at her.

“Good. Now you should get to bed, it’s late.”

With a hug good night, Lilo ran off to her room, hoping to finally get to some shut eye. Once out of the room, David stepped in.

“Did you hear all that?” Nani asked him.

“Yeah. She really is growing up, isn’t she?”

Nani couldn’t help but smile. She didn’t know if she was ready for Lilo to grow up, but she didn’t really have a choice either. “To be young and in love.”


	10. Meega Good

The next day, when Lilo first saw Victoria before class, she tried to talk to her. She tried to apologize. She tried her very best to sort things out. The moment she tried to speak though, her mind flashed back to the moment she saw Victoria holding Stitch. The anger and jealousy cropped up even stronger than it did before. With a furrowed brow and anger in her eyes, Lilo turned away and entered the building without a word. Stitch followed behind silently, he looked back at Victoria with sorrow in his eyes.

 _I shouldn’t have let it come this far._ He thought guiltily to himself. _I’m going to fix this._

Watching her friend turn her back on her, Victoria felt crushed again. “Lilo!” She called after, but she didn’t receive any response. Instead she only watched as the door closed. _I know this isn’t your fault…still._ Victoria slowly entered the class, hoping she could force Lilo to talk to her.

Stitch had to sit at the back of the room and watch everything he felt he had caused. What was once a class filled with beauty and joy, filled with sorrow for the blue experiment. Lilo wouldn’t even look at Victoria, instead she focused on Stitch. Her smile when she saw him brought a warmth to his heart, even when things were going bad, she still managed to make him feel better.

Teresa, Elena, and Yuki, at the bidding of Myrtle, kept their distance from Lilo as well. Even though they were starting to get used to the idea of Lilo and Stitch being a couple, they couldn’t go against the wishes of their friend and leader. Between them and the falling out with Victoria, Lilo stood in the middle of the stage. Alone. She distanced herself from her friend while the others distanced themselves from her.

“What is going on with you girls today?” Moses asked, dropping his clipboard to his side. The silence that followed his question made Lilo’s ears ring. “Is no one going to tell me what’s happening? You’re not acting like yourselves.”

The five girls looked towards Lilo, and Stitch could feel the glares as if he were onstage instead. _Those should be for me._ He already resolved to finish this. As soon as he could, he was going to find a cure for his Lilo, then everything will go back to the way things were. Hopefully.

Once given a break, Lilo decided to sit with Stitch for a few minutes to catch her breath. She felt comfort in his hand that she was holding. The comfort soon died down as Victoria made her way over. Lilo didn’t notice the puffiness in her eyes, but Stitch did.

“Lilo. Please talk to me.” She pleaded as she fell to her knees in front of her friend. “I wasn’t trying to steal Stitch away from you. I was just trying to talk to him about…” She trailed off, worried about making Lilo even more upset with the truth.

“About what?” Lilo’s eyes held strong on her. She was completely willing to listen to any reasonable explanation that Victoria said. Instead, Victoria looked away. Her eye’s darted to Stitch, she was worried about upsetting Lilo even more with the truth. The terror in Stitch’s eye’s told her it was best to keep quiet about it.

 _At this point she probably wouldn’t believe the truth anyway._ She tried to come up with something, but couldn’t. “I…I just wasn’t trying to steal him. Okay?”

“I really want to believe you Victoria. But I can’t.” Lilo snuggled into Stitch protectively. Her eyes didn’t deter until Victoria finally got up and left them.

“She wasn’t trying to steal meega.” Stitch whispered, placing his lips on the top of Lilo’s head. Her silky hair still smelled of mango.

“I know.” She replied sadly. “Something in me just won’t forgive her.” A few quiet seconds passed between them. “Does this make me a bad person?”

“Naga.” Stitch said as he tightened his grip on her. “Yuuga naga bad. Meega sure things will be better soon.”

“You think so?”

“Ih.” His confidence made Lilo feel better. It didn’t help himself though. _I’m the bad person._

Once night had finally settled, and everyone in the house was asleep. Stitch carefully worked his way out of Lilo’s grasp. He looked lovingly at her one last time, not knowing if he would find the cure and it would all be over. “I love you.” He whispered. Lilo shifted in her sleep, but his words didn’t reach her ears. Not even the creak of the window as Stitch left the dome waked her.

In the cover of darkness, he quickly found his way to Jumba’s ship, not wanting to waste any time. In the best case, he would find the cure right away and then be able to get some sleep with the love of his life one last time. _First things first._ He opened the door to Jumba’s ship, the usual bright halls stayed cloaked in shadow. _Find a cure, then sleep._ Having located the experiment database, Stitch quickly searched for his cousin’s entry.

“Experiment number three-two-three.” The computer exclaimed as a picture of Hunkahunka appeared on screen. “Primary function: love inducer. Pecks cause subject to fall in love with the next person they see.”

“Meega nota.” Stitch skimmed through the file faster. “Where are the cures?”

“Known cures: Splashing water on face.” Stitch slammed his fist on the computer keyboard.

“That naga work!” He furiously scrolled through the file, searching for any more information.

“Naga!

Naga!

Naga!” Stitch was starting to feel hopeless. Nothing he was finding was of any help. Everything he knew or had to do with Hunkahunka’s creation. “There must be other information…something more… or anything untested.”

At Stitch’s command, the computer’s voice roared to life again. “Untested information.”

“Gaba?”

“Experiment three-two-three was never tested under multiple conditions. Certain variables may cause increased effect in affected subject.”

Stitch blinked when the computer didn’t start to list the variables. “Is there nothing else?” He began clicking around the file, desperate to get just a little more information. The eerie green glow of the computer filled the room as Stitch sat for hours. No matter what he searched, nothing gave him any more clues on what was happening with Lilo. His eyes started to sting as exhaustion started to take over.

“Just a few…more…minutes.” Stitch looked to the clock, trying to see the numbers in the dark. It was early in the morning. He was already starting to nod off when his hand slipped and he shut down the computer. “Chutta!”

 Sighing in defeat, he retreated back to Lilo’s bed. The moment his head hit his pillow, Lilo’s arm wrapped around him. “Where’d you go?” She asked half asleep.

“Soka. Meega went nowhere. Go back to sleep.” Before Stitch even told her to, her eyes were closed again and she was fast asleep. He smiled slightly, glad that he would get to be with her for one more day.

 

_The sun was extremely warm, a lot warmer that it would usually be, even in summer. Stitch sat on a beach towel, watching the gentle roll of the waves. He looked to his side to see the bright smile of Lilo, shining even greater than the sun hanging in the sky._

_Stitch couldn’t believe that it had been five years since Lilo was pecked by Hunkahunka. It truly seemed like Lilo hadn’t aged a day. It was almost like her beauty was locked in time, forever, to be with him as they were when they were young._

_“I’m so happy I never stopped it.” He thought out loud._

_“Stopped what?” Lilo asked in her near angelic voice._

_He saw the confusion on her face and laughed it off. “Nothing. Don’t worry about it, sweetie.”_

_Lilo just smiled again, wrinkling her face slightly as she turned back to the wondrous ocean. “It’s such a pretty day, isn’t it?”_

_“Yeah it is. Every day’s pretty when I’m with you.” Stitch’s gaze returned to the water before him._ _He watched the rolling and crashing of the waves until something caught his attention. “Does something seem odd to you?”_

_“No.” Lilo said, shaking her head. “It’s like it always has been. Paradise.”_

_Stitch looked back to the ocean, despite the constant waves he couldn’t feel a single breeze. It wasn’t until he really looked at the white foam covering the water that he realized that he couldn’t hear the ocean either. Aside from them, everything was silent and still. It was like watching a video without the sound._

_“I can’t-“He was about to explain the weirdness of everything, when Lilo suddenly asked him something._

_“Stitch, I’m really thirsty. Can you grab me a drink from the basket?”_

_Stitch looked to his right. Suddenly, a few yards down the beach sat a picnic basket. He was sure it wasn’t there before, but distinctly remembered putting it there. “Sure. One second.”_

_He walked to the basket and grabbed the single cup of water that was inside. When he turned back to Lilo, he couldn’t see her. He feverishly scanned the beach for the girl that was there only moments ago. Straining his vision, he saw that she was now on the other end of the golden sand, sitting like nothing had changed._

_“How did? Never mind.” He shrugged off her sudden transportation and carefully walked the length of the beach. He was careful not to spill a single drop of water as the cup was filled to the very rim. No matter how much he walked, he didn’t seem to get any closer to the waiting Lilo. Feeling a slight panic, he started to run._

_Slowly, he found himself getting closer and closer, until suddenly she was a foot in front of him. Not wanting to crash into her, he slammed his feet into the burning sand. The action made him lose his balance and he dropped the cup. It went flying forward, the water flew everywhere. Lilo looked towards him, just as the water hit her face and soaked her entirely._

_“I’m so sorry.” Stitch apologized. Grabbing a towel that wasn’t there a moment ago, he began drying her off._

_“What did you do?” Lilo said, slight anger in her voice._

_“Sorry. I dropped the water. I’ll dry you off right away.” He said, dabbing at all the wet spots on her._

_“Not that!” She shouted, pushing Stitch off her. He landed on his back as she began standing up. Her face a mixture of anger, confusion, and embarrassment. “You put a spell on me!”_

_Stitch felt like his entire world shattered around him. “The spell broke! You remember?” He was so confused, unsure of how it could have just suddenly ended after so long._

_“I remember everything.” Lilo looked completely devastated. “All the things I said and did. All the things we did. How could you make me do it?”_

_“B-but I didn’t! Angel…and, and Reuben. They. I tried to break the spell, but I couldn’t.” His words came out faster than he could form sentences. All the happiness he knew the past little while seemed to be fading away._

_“So you took advantage of me!?” Her eyes flashed more hatred than he had ever seen in them before._

_“No… I would never…”_

_“You used me!”_

_Stitch started to get up, trying his best to plead his case. That it wasn’t his fault. That he didn’t ask for any of this. “I love you, Lilo!”_

_“So much that you would do this to me for years! You’re bad, real bad! I hate you, Stitch!” Lilo turned and began to run. Stitch stood in shock, unable to believe what had just happened. After only a moment, he chased after her, calling out to her, tears falling from his eyes. “Leave me alone!” She called back to him._

_The world began to fall away from where she stepped. Nothing but darkness beneath. Stitch didn’t pay any mind to it as he tried his best to catch up. Everything slowly fell like sand in an hourglass, fading away into nothing. Soon, the ground beneath Stitch vanished. His breath caught in his throat as the image of Lilo quickly disappeared from sight as nothing but darkness took over._

_“You took advantage of me! You used me! You’re bad!” Lilo’s words echoed all around him, tearing at him continuously._

_“Meega naga bad. Meega good!” He shouted to the air. His arms flailed around hoping to grab something, anything at all to stop him from falling. “Meega good. Meega good.”_

 

“Meega good.” Stitch fell out of the Lilo’s bed, completely wrapped in the blankets.

“Stitch!” A voice of concern accompanied the sound of running footsteps. Stitch was still half asleep, mumbling to himself as he struggled out of his cocoon. “Are you okay?”

Once freed, Stitch blinked rapidly. The sadness, terror, and guilt carried over from his dream. His eye’s landed onto Lilo’s and the tears began to pour. He didn’t see the love and caring in her eyes, all he could see was the anger filled ones from his dream. He clutched at her, sobbing. “Meega soka. Meega soka. Meega good, meega swear meega good.” There was a slight pause, he expected Lilo to say something, anything about him keeping her under a spell. When nothing came, his gasps of breath shortened. “Meega love yuuga.”

“I love you too.” Her words were like paradise to him. Lilo’s voice managed to calm him down enough to realize that it was just a dream. “Did you have a bad dream, sweetie?” Lilo scooped Stitch up in her arms. Her side ponytail swayed back and forth as she stood.

“Ih.” He said, still feeling slightly guilty, but happy that what he had dreamed didn’t actually happen.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” She carried him over to her desk, where she had been before Stitch started to shout out in his sleep.

He wanted to come clean, explain everything, tell her she was under a spell and didn’t actually love him. He couldn’t do it. Last night, progress had been made, he could find a cure. It would just take a little bit of time. “Naga. Meega oketaka.”

 


	11. I Can't Anymore

Over the rest of the week, the same set of events occurred. Lilo would take Stitch to hula with her, where she would try to work things out with Victoria. After she would fail, she found herself feeling angrier at the sight of her friend each time. Seeing this, Stitch would then feel more resolve to find the cure for Lilo. He stayed up each and every night to research Hunkahunka and his effect on people. After he had found out about the untested variables, he started to run simulations of everything he could think of. Trying his best to remember every detail about the night Lilo got pecked, he imputed test after test. Ultimately, with no result. Lilo noticed that Stitch was starting to become more and more tired. Despite being created to cause mass chaos and destruction, he still needed sleep. Each day he was finding himself sleeping less and less at night. Thankfully, no one noticed him sneaking out, and he would always wait until Lilo was asleep before leaving. Stitch already believed he was too far into the ruse to tell anyone, the thought of asking Jumba for help left him long ago. Determined to figure this out, he felt like he had almost found an answer.

Completely losing track of time the previous night, Stitch found himself with no sleep. By the time he finally got to lay down, Lilo’s alarm had begun to ring. The sound grated at his ears like he never knew was possible.

Trying to shake off his sleepiness before reaching the breakfast table, Stitch couldn’t help but let his head slowly fall forward. He wanted to sleep so badly, but didn’t want to miss hula class with Lilo.

“Are you okay, Stitch?” Nani asked as his head was nearly into his cereal bowl.

Hearing his name shocked Stitch to his senses, he jumped up onto the back of his chair wondering what was going on. “Gaba?”

“Woah. Calm down there.” David said, picking him up and putting him back in his seat.

Stitch looked at the faces of those around the table. Nani, and Jumba looked really surprised, while Pleakley stared at him with a spoon hovering in his mouth. When his eye’s met the concerned gaze of Lilo he began feeling extremely embarrassed.

“Soka.” He said with a laugh. “Meega just tired.”

“Clearly.” David said as he took his seat. “Haven’t you been sleeping well?”

Stitch just shook his head, finally taking his eyes off of Lilo. “Meega going to get fresh air. That should help.” He excused himself from the table and the others watched him leave the room.

“Well that was odd.” Pleakley said, finally closing his mouth on his spoon of cereal. He continued to talk with his mouth full. “I wonder why the little monster isn’t sleeping.”

Lilo shot up, sending her chair skidding backwards as she slammed her hands on the table, shaking the boxes and bowls of cereal. “Stitch isn’t odd or a monster, Pleakley!” She shouted at the thin alien, making him gulp down his food in slight terror. “Don’t ever say that again!”

The rage that filled Lilo’s eyes burned a hole through Pleakley. Jumba and David just sat in silence with their mouths hung open. No one had ever seen Lilo get so mad so quickly. Nani was the most shocked at her sister’s behavior.

“Lilo, what’s gotten into you?” She asked, not fearing her sister like Pleakley did.

A second later, Lilo looked like she had returned to her regular self. Her eye’s softened back and she lifted her hands from the table. If the sudden rage wasn’t strange, how quickly she went back to normal was. She looked between the four at the table, but mostly at Pleakley.

“I-I’m sorry, Pleakley.” She backed away from the table a few steps. “I…I should get going.” She ran from the room, only to return immediately to put her chair back then run back out again.

Jumba stood from the table and poked his head into the living room. From there he could see her meet up with Stitch outside before they went to class together. _Very strange._ The evil genius thought about what he had just seen. _Six-two-six is tired, and the little girl is acting odd._ He went back to the table where everyone continued to eat in silence. No one wanted another sudden outburst to occur. Jumba continued to mull over what had occurred, deciding that it would be best to look into matters himself.

 

Along the walk, Lilo stayed silent. The bag hung over her shoulder felt as heavy as her thoughts of what she had just done. She had never shouted at Pleakley before, she never got so mad at someone in her ohana before. _It was just like the times with Myrtle._ She felt like she was starting to lose control of herself, her actions were no longer her own. _Why am I getting so angry with everyone?_ While Lilo stayed lost in her thoughts, Stitch was fighting to stay awake. He had hoped that the fresh breeze would help wake him up, but he was finding that that wasn’t the case. Even walking, even holding Lilo’s hand wasn’t helping at all. His head started to nod forward, jutting up every time he caught himself.

The two came to a busy street, the hula building was just around the corner. Lilo stopped to wait for a red car to go by, but Stitch didn’t see it. Barely conscious, he stepped out into the road.

“Stitch!” Lilo shouted, tightening her grip on his hand and pulling him back onto the sidewalk the moment the car zoomed by.

The loud honk of the car was the most abrupt wakeup call Stitch had ever received. His eyes were wide open as he looked around. “Gaba?”

“You almost go hit by a car.” Lilo said getting down on one knee. “I know it wouldn’t have hurt you, but still.”

“Oh…soka, and takka, Lilo.”

“Don’t apologize. You’re just really tired. Are you okay? Do you wanna talk about why you haven’t been sleeping?”

“Naga. Meega just not sleeping well. That isa all.” He felt a lot more awake after nearly being hit by a car, but he was still tired. Lilo could see it in the droopiness of his face.

“How about while I’m in class, you take a nap outside? It’ll do you some good.”

“Yuuga sure?”

“Yeah. You’ve been so good, you deserve it.” She gave him a kiss on the nose, making him blush. While he didn’t feel like he deserved it, he did need it.

After telling him that she would be back soon, Lilo left Stitch outside the building. He found a nearby tree and laid down it its shade. Remembering the nightmare he had the last time he got some real sleep, he hoped that it didn’t happen again. _I sure hope that nightmare doesn’t come true._ He knew his dreams sometimes came true, especially when something bad was happening. The worst thing that could happen right now would for be the spell on Lilo to break suddenly and she remember everything. Trying to keep a clear mind, he let himself finally doze off, welcoming the sweet sleep he really needed.

 

Meanwhile, Jumba was in his lab, toiling over the strange behavior Lilo had shown at breakfast. Trying to see if any experiment could have caused it. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find any experiment that would cause an outburst of anger like that. He looked through the emotion changing experiments, and even more specifically the anger causing ones. Nothing came up like what he had seen.

“It was being like something came over her suddenly.” He thought out loud.

After searching some more he noticed something odd. There was a long list of previous activity on the database. He couldn’t remember using it himself, so someone else had to have done it.

“Computer. Give me list of previous users.” He commanded.

“Jumba Jookiba.” The computer responded.

“Not now! Before today.”

“Only Jumba Jookiba has used this database in the last month.” The monotone voice told him.

“Odd.” He looked through the files that had been accessed. Everything was pertaining to Hunkahunka. “I have not looked at these files since three-two-three’s activation… Computer! Show me video data feed from last night.”

The screen instantly changed to a recording of the previous night. Jumba fast forwarded until he began to see movement. The moment a shadow sat at the computer he resumed the regular speed of the tape. It was hard to see who it was, but the moment the glow from the screen illuminated the user, Jumba could see who it was.

“Six-two-six! He most certainly could access this database without leaving recognition.” He started to talk to himself again, helping him draw conclusions faster. “By the number of files here, he must have been coming every night for a while now. That would explain how tired he was. He has not been sleeping at all. But… why study three-two-three?”

The curiousness of a scientist began to show in Jumba. Needing answers, he decided to talk to Stitch the moment he returned home. He shut down the database and returned to the house, waiting for his greatest creation to return.

 

Victoria spent the entire class trying to get Lilo’s attention. Despite everything, she still tried her best to make things right between the two of them. Even if it didn’t happen until the spell on her friend was broken, she wouldn’t give up. _Lilo wouldn’t give up on me. I can’t give up on her._ Not giving up was easier said than done. It felt like Lilo was getting angrier every time she tried to speak to her. Putting it to the side as just the prolonged effects of Hunkahunka, she continued. The group finally got a break, Moses was working them even harder because it was the end of the week. Everyone felt sore and tired, but relished in the few moments they had to stop.

Victoria approached Lilo, knowing it would be her last chance until the end of class. If things continued the way they did, she wouldn’t see Lilo again until Monday after that. “Lilo, please talk to me.”

“Go away.” Her friend said. She could still hear the anger in Lilo’s voice, it was getting more and more prominent as time went on. It reminded her of how she acted when Myrtle upset her. _Is that what I am to you now?_

“I’m not going to stop until we’re friends again.”

“How could I be friends with you again?!” Lilo lost control again. Everyone looked towards her when they heard her shout.

“Lilo-“

“Stop!” Everyone looked away, not wanting to get caught in it. Moses, on the other hand, made his way over in case something went wrong. “Just…leave me alone, Victoria. I hate you, okay?”

Vitoria looked at her, completely shot down. She felt her heart stop and stomach drop, it was getting harder and harder for her not to give up. She tried to find something in Lilo’s eyes that told her it was okay to continue, but there was nothing there. Nothing but anger towards her for something that didn’t even happen. She turned away, not seeing the moment when Lilo’s anger finally subsided.

Lilo watched as her friend walked away from her. She felt a part of herself get pulled away as Victoria took each step. She didn’t know what made her say those things, but what scared her more than anything, was that she thought she might never get to take those words back. After class, she expected Victoria to come to her again. She didn’t know if she would be able to apologize, she didn’t know if she would even be able to talk to her. By the time she finished changing though, she noticed that Victoria had already left.

As soon as she finished changing back into her white t-shirt and brown shorts, Victoria immediately headed outside. She figured it would be best to talk to Lilo away from everyone else. That way no one would get involved. Even if things went bad, which she expected them too, at least it would be only between them. What she didn’t expect to see once she got outside was Stitch laying down in the shade of a tree.

She noticed that Stitch wasn’t in class with them, but was so focused on Lilo she didn’t think anything of it. Stitch’s back was to her, and the fact that he wasn’t moving made her instantly think he was hurt. She rushed to his side, calling out his name.

“Stitch?!” She started shaking him, but didn’t get a response. Stitch was still out cold, enjoying his afternoon nap. “Stitch? Are you okay?” She started to feel Stitch stir beneath her, making her panic start to cease.

“Huh?” Stitch rolled onto his back, the light of the sun blinding him as his eyes began to open. “Gaba?” His vision started to return and he saw the form of a girl kneeling over him, everything was still too blurry to tell who it was though.

Lilo had just excited the building and began looking around for where Stitch had went. She hoped that he managed to get some sleep while she was in class, and really needed his help to feel better. What she didn’t expect, though, was find Victoria kneeling over Stitch in the shade of a tree. Frozen in place, her mind tried to comprehend what was happening before her. _Again? She’s been trying to tell me over and over that she wasn’t trying anything and now she’s doing it again? While he’s asleep no less._ All reason left her as her bag dropped onto the wooden steps. She rushed over to the two by the tree, clearing the distance a lot faster than she thought she could.

Stitch heard the sound of rushing footsteps approach along with Lilo’s scent. He instantly came to his senses, seeing Victoria kneeling above him. _Victoria?_ He looked to his side, towards the smell of Lilo making him gasp as he saw the anger filled girl rushing to them. “Lilo?”

Victoria followed his gaze just in time to see Lilo’s hands shove her to the ground. “Get off of him!” Lilo yelled.

Victoria fell to the ground hard, sliding on the dirt. She felt a pain in her arm as she tried to support herself up. She brought her other hand over to touch the spot and winced from the pain. She pulled her hand away to see that she had been cut up as she skidded on the ground. Dark red drops of blood slowly crawled down her arm. She looked back at her ‘friend’ and still saw nothing but rage, no remorse, no sorrow, no pain. _Lilo or not… I can’t do this anymore._


	12. The Truth

Stitch watched in horror as Victoria slowly stood up and walked away. She held her arm tight, hoping to get the bleeding to stop before she reached her house. As much as she cared for Lilo, she couldn’t handle everything in that moment. Trying her best and constantly being shot down was taking its toll on her, and now she could barely think of anything but the pain in her arm. _I helped cause this._ She hated herself for being involved in it all. When Angel first came to her at the party with the idea, she thought it would be perfect. Now she wished she had never agreed.

Victoria winced at the pain as she walked. Her hand never left the sore spot, fearing what even the slightest bit of movement would do. _I should have cleaned it first._ It would be a short walk, but the heat and pain would make it feel a whole lot longer.

Once Victoria was out of ear shot, Lilo realized what she had done. Her anger instantly vanished, replaced with guilt and sorrow. Even though she wanted to, her legs would not carry her to her friend’s side. She was stuck in place, only able to use her voice.

“Wait! Victoria! I’m sorry.”

Stitch was the only one who heard her apology. She hoped that Victoria would turn around and everything would be alright. They would be friends again and this would all be something to laugh about a few years down the road. Victoria’s back never turned, Lilo could only watch as her best friend walked away from her. Stitch stood up and took Lilo’s hand.

A few stray tears hit the ground as Lilo turned and fell into Stitch’s arms. “What is wrong with me?” She said through gasps of breath. “I’m a terrible friend. How could I hurt her like that?” Lilo’s tears were flowing freely, matting down Stitch’s fur on his back. “She didn’t even do anything wrong again did she?”

Stitch couldn’t say anything, and his silence gave Lilo her answer. She coughed as her cries returned harder than before. Stitch brought his hand up to her back, petting it softly. His hug and touch were comforting, but it didn’t change how Lilo felt.

“It’ll be oketaka.” He whispered in her ear. “Isa okay.”

Stitch felt her arms clutch around him tight. He truly wished everything would be okay. That things would soon go back to the way things were. He turned his head and rested his lips on Lilo’s head. She brushed away her flowing tears, enjoying the feeling of his soft kiss.

 _I’m going to fix this._ A fire was lit in Stitch. He could see now that he had broken his promise to Reuben. Instead of keeping Lilo happy, he brought her pain and sadness. Even if it was the last thing he did, he was going to get his old Lilo back.

The entire walk home, Lilo tried her best to hold back her tears. She couldn’t help but continue to feel sad. It was like her emotions were always on full. Either she was extremely happy, mad, sad, or anything. The only thing that felt secure in her was her love for Stitch. Even in what felt like one of her darkest times, she still found the sight of him bringing a smile to her face. She clenched his hand a bit tighter, not wanting to lose it. Stitch looked up at her and gave her a smile that sent her heart into a flutter.

Stitch stayed by her side for comfort, but stayed silent. There was nothing he could say that would fix what had happened, the smile she gave him when she looked to him gave him comfort. _At least I can still make her feel a little better like this._ His thumb traced circles on the back of Lilo’s hand, making her giggle. The first real smile he had seen from her all day.

 

“How was hula class?” Nani asked the moment Lilo and Stitch returned. Lilo’s sad face and puffy eyes told her everything she needed to know. “Not good?”

Lilo just shook her head, letting Stitch’s hand go. “I really messed up.”

Jumba sat on the couch, biding his time. The first chance he got he needed to talk to Stitch. He kept his eyes on his experiment, who noticed his gaze.

“Oh, sweetie. Do you want to talk about what happened?”

Lilo silently nodded before heading towards Nani’s room. Stitch was about to follow, but was suddenly held back by Jumba. The hand on his shoulder was strong and tight. It pained him slightly, but it wasn’t the force that made him fear what was coming. Looking at his creators face, he felt his stomach drop. A mix of curiosity, worry, and anger strewn upon his features.

“I am thinking we should be having a discussion, six-two-six.” Jumba said, not letting his grip loosen.

Stitch made an audible gulp. “Gaba about?” He asked, but he was sure he already knew. It was something he had feared, but would have been more surprised if no one had found out.

“I think you are already knowing.”

Stitch nodded before letting himself get pulled away by the large purple alien. He looked back towards the hall, hoping that Lilo would be okay. The last thing he wanted was for Lilo to feel even worse without him there to do anything for her.

 

“So.” Nani patted the spot on the bed next to her, inviting Lilo to sit. Rather than sitting, Lilo completely flopped face first onto the mattress. She gave her a pillow to rest her head on before finally asking. “What happened today?”

Lilo explained everything that happened. About Victoria constantly trying to work things out, and how she didn’t understand why she couldn’t feel anything but anger. She then went on to talk about Stitch being tired and almost getting hit by a car, then letting him nap while she was in class. Nani saw some tears start to form in the corners of Lilo’s eyes as she hesitated to say the next part.

“When I got outside, I saw her kneeling over Stitch…it looked like she was about to kiss him…I…I…”

“You lost it?” Nani finished her sentence for her.

She watched as Lilo’s head turned into the pillow. A nod finally came and after a few short sobs, Lilo sat up. Lilo held onto the pillow tight, suddenly wishing that Stitch was there to hold her. She didn’t know where he had went, she just heard Jumba’s voice and then continued off with Nani.

“There’s more though. She fell to the ground.”

“She fell?”

“After I pushed her.”

“You pushed her?” Nani was shocked at what she was hearing. This was behavior she expected towards Myrtle. She never expected to hear Lilo had done something like this to her best friend. “Lilo you ca-“

“I couldn’t help myself.” Lilo looked and turned away. Nani fell into silence, not really sure what to say to the young girl. “It was like this morning. Before I realized what was happening and what I had done… Victoria was walking away. Her arm looked hurt pretty bad.”

Nani put her hand on Lilo’s arm, rubbing it in comfort. “It’ll be okay. Listen. First fights, first boyfriends, these sort of things aren’t always going to go perfect all the time. There will be times you and Victoria think you hate each other, then the next minute there is no one in the world more special. This will work out, I promise. Just give it some time.”

“Okay…” Lilo wasn’t sure if Nani was right. This didn’t feel like a normal teenage drama issue to her. It felt like there was something more. “Would it be okay if I go be on my own for a bit?”

“Of course. Take all the time you need.”

Lilo gave her sister a small hug before walking off. Nani watched as she slowly took off at a run. A sad sigh escaped her as she looked over at her photo of their mom and dad. _I hope I’m doing a good job._ She went over to the photo and picked it up, placing it against her heart. _You were always so good at this, mom._

 

Jumba had dragged Stitch all the way to his lab. The entire time, Stitch did not struggle or make a sound, until he saw where they were going.

“Meega think meega should go check on Lilo.” Stitch stammered once he saw the computer he had been working at every night.

“Little earth girl will be fine.” Jumba said, brushing his worries off. “Now then.” He brought the computer to life. On the screen was a video of Stitch working at the very computer they stood at. “Can you be telling me why you’ve been with the working every night?”

Stitch’s ears dropped, he had hopped no one would catch him, especially not this far into things. However, he had been caught. With a look of guilt that moved even the evil genius, he began to explain everything from the beginning. Jumba’s look of shock didn’t truly surface until he mentioned water not breaking Hunkahunka’s spell.

“What?” Jumba flopped into his chair and turned to the computer. He began flipping through the files that Stitch had previously looked at over the nights. “If the cure is not working then…”

“Isa permanent?”

“No!” Jumba shouted, causing Stitch to flinch. “Sorry, no. It can’t be permanent. I am not knowing why the cure is not working though.” He saw Stitch’s ears drop, he didn’t see it before, but his creation was clearly torn up over it all. He turned back, resting a gentle hand on Stitch’s shoulder. “Tell me, why were you not telling me from the beginning?”

Stitch doubled over a little. He knew he should have from the start, he had even planned to. Images of Lilo smiling and telling him she loved him came back to him. The warmth of her words still filled him. Even after everything, they still filled him and made him feel special.

“Meega tried. Naga nota how bad it could get.” He rubbed his arm and looked away. “Meega just wanted to enjoy it a little. Meega love her for so long. It felt good. More than good. It felt…butifa…magical.”

“And how are you feeling now.”

“Ika patooba. Meega ika patootie.”

“You are being a stupid head, yes.” Stitch flinched from his words. “But, you are also smart, caring, kind. You can still fix this.”

“Meega can?”

Jumba burst out laughing as he returned to his computer. “Of course you can. You are six-two-six. My greatest creation!” His fingers flew across the keyboard, bringing up schematics and systems of Hunkahunka. “Now, be leaving cure to me. You go be with little girl.”

“Ih!” Stitch smiled and nodded, quickly turning to run to Lilo’s side. He was relieved to have the help of Jumba. “Takka!”

“But.” Stitch froze, knowing things were too good to be true. “You must be telling her truth. You need to tell her everything.”

Stitch stared at him blankly. His dream came to mind as he thought about what Lilo would do if she knew. “Gaba if she hates me?”

“You must do it. It is only being fair to her. She needs to be knowing things are not being her fault.”

Stitch knew he was right. No matter what, he needed to tell her the truth. He couldn’t continue living the lie. If he didn’t want what happened in his dream to come true, he needed to tell her now. “Meega try.”

After a bit of searching, Stitch found Lilo in her treehouse. As time passed, they added height to the walls, wanting to keep it safe for Lilo as she had grown. But they never closed it in completely, the freedom and the breeze was something both Lilo and Stitch liked most about their little home away from home. She was leaning over the edge, watching the gentle flow of the water in the stream below. She enjoyed watching as flowers and leaves slowly floated down the way. Lilo wondered what it would be like to just lay in the water and let it carry her wherever the current wished.

Stitch approached her quietly, not wanting to startle her. Climbing up onto the top of the wall, Stitch felt Lilo lean against him. The two stood in silence, looking at the stream, the river, the forests, the mountains, and the sky as it slowly turned gold. Stitch knew he had to tell her everything, but now that he was there with her, it suddenly became a lot harder to find the words.

“Do you think things will work out between me and Victoria?” Lilo finally asked, sounding a little somber.

“Of course yuuga will. Yuuga best friends. Meega sure yuuga work it out. There isa nothing yuuga can’t do.” He ran his hand through her hair, enjoying the soft silky feel. He let out a sad breath, knowing that in a few moments it would be coming to an end. “Lilo meega-“

“Thank you, Stitch. I love you.” Her words sent a chill through his body. Completely unable to move, he knew this was where it needed to stop.

Stitch jumped down from the wall, getting a confused look from Lilo. He kept his back turned to her, wondering what he should say. Lilo walked over to him, asking words of if he was okay or not. Not a single one reached him, his mind swirled and swayed of images from his times with Lilo.

All the laughs, the smiles, the cuddles, the kisses, the words of love and happiness. However, they were taken over by the anger, the fights with Victoria, and his dream. The last thing in the world that Stitch wanted, was to hear that Lilo hated him. For that reason, he needed to tell her the truth.

“Stitch, what’s wrong?” She asked, kneeling down. He could feel her hand on his back, sending shivers down his spine.

“Meega been bad, Lilo. Meega been very, very bad.”

“What are you talking about? You haven’t been bad.” She heard his words become panicked and frayed. They were only apart for a short time. _What could he have done that would make him feel this way._

“Meega did something meega shouldn’t. Meega soka for it, but isa naga butifa thing to have done.”

“Whatever it is, Stitch. I’m sure you can make up for it.” Her eyes grew wide as he shook his head and pulled away from her. Stitch had never moved from her touch before.

“Yuuga might hate me for it.” Stitch was in near tears, all the emotions and guilt were flooding to him in that moment.

“What are you talking about? I could never hate you. I love you.”

A moment of silence passed. Lilo looked into his dark eyes, feeling scared. She didn’t know what had suddenly happened. Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes. It was clearly painful for him to say the next few words.

“That isa it, Lilo. Yuuga naga love meega.”


	13. Love and Forgiveness

“W-what are you talking about?” Lilo thought she misheard him, or that he was joking, she even laughed lightly, hoping he would suddenly say he was just kidding. After he said no more, she realized that he was being completely serious. “Of course I love you.” She tried to reach out to him, but once again he pulled back. “I love you, Stitch. I’ve loved you for a very long time.”

Stitch finally turned away, Lilo saw a glimmer from a stray tear that started to trail down his face. “Naga.”

“But I do!” Lilo stood up quickly, getting as close to him as she could. “Stitch. I’m serious, I love you. Why would you say I don’t? I don’t like it…”

“Yuuga only think yuuga love meega…because Hunkahunka pecked you.” The truth had finally come out of him, but he didn’t feel any better. Even in the liberation, he could feel his heart tearing slowly.

“Hunkahunka?” Lilo whispered to herself.

“Ih. On yuuga’s birthday.”

She tried to think back to her birthday, but everything became fuzzy in her head. All she could remember was a slight pain on her neck and then confessing her love to Stitch. Lilo recalled another time that Stitch had mentioned Hunkahunka, but she completely dismissed it. _Is it true? Am I just feeling that fakey love?_ She had never been pecked before, she didn’t know what it was actually like.

Lilo searched her heart for the answer. All she could find was Stitch. His smile, his laughter, his touch, his smell, everything was him. She felt nothing but love for her life time friend. “No.” She wouldn’t believe what he was saying. She couldn’t believe it. “I love you.”

Stitch felt her quickly leave the treehouse. At first he thought she was just being stubborn, and that soon he would follow and try to convince her again. However, he started hearing something strange coming from below. A light splashing sound.

Looking over the edge of the treehouse, he could see Lilo standing in the water, splashing her face repeatedly. _Lilo?_ He crawled down the side of the tree to get to her side as fast as he could. Completely disregarding his fear of water, he grabbed her arm and started pulling her back to solid ground “Lilo? Gaba yuuga doing? Yuuga might get sick!”

He became even more surprised when he suddenly felt her lips pressed against his. Stitch almost lost himself for a second, tasting the slightly salty water coming off of her lips. Pulling himself away, he gave her a quizzical look.

“See? I splashed water on my face but I still love you. Hunkahunka has nothing to do with it.” She had hoped to see him smile. That this last declaration would convince him of what she had felt for him.

She was wrong.

Stitch told her that that’s what he thought too. That when the spell wasn’t broken after she had a shower, that she really did love him. However he started to become suspicious, so he told her that he looked into the files of Hunkahunka. That he found there were certain elements that were untested. Something was able to change his peck, his spell, making the regular cure ineffective. He told her he wasn’t sure what it was, but that Jumba was working on it already.

The more he spoke, the wider Lilo’s eyes became. She didn’t want to believe it. She truly loved him with all her heart. She wanted nothing more than to be with him for the rest of her life. Nothing else mattered to her. _But… is it real? Or is that the spell?_ She tried to remember before. Before her birthday. If Stitch was telling the truth, and that she was pecked that night, then she just needed to remember her feelings from before that moment. _What were they?_ No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remember how she felt about Stitch before. All that she could remember and feel came after that night.

“Meega think something else too.” He continued, snapping her back to the conversation at hand. “Meega think the reason yuuga’s emotions so frantic, isa because of the spell. Being under it so long isa throwing everything yuuga feel off balance.”

“So then the reason I’m so mad at Victoria…” She understood what Stitch was saying. Everything was making sense. “I can’t feel anything but hate for her because-“

“Hunkahunka’s spell…yeah…” He took a couple steps back, this time, Lilo didn’t flinch at it. “Meega soka. Naga nota yuuga under spell until isa too late. Meega thought yuuga truly loved meega.”

“I d-“She tried to tell him that she did love him, but she really had no idea anymore. “Why didn’t you tell me until now?” Lilo could see the shame wash over him. It wasn’t hard to understand why he kept her in the dark about it. “It’s because you love me.”

Stitch nodded. “Meega love yuuga for butifa long time. Isa magical to be with yuuga. Meega naga realize how bad things could become. Meega may have ruined yuuga’s friendship with Victoria.”

Lilo could see that Stitch blamed himself for everything. She wondered if anything would have changed if she had known earlier. _No, it wouldn’t have._ In a way, she blamed Stitch as well. Even if nothing had changed, she wished he would have told her. But no matter what, even knowing everything, she still only loved him. _I guess that’s because of the spell too._ The cool wind began to sting her face as the water slowly dried on her skin. She wondered if there was any way for her to know if what she felt was real or not. _The only one who would probably know would be….Victoria!_

Not wanting to waste a single second, Lilo took off at a run. She hoped against hope that Victoria would speak to her. At the very least she understood now, and could fight back the anger enough to apologize and ask for her help.    

 

Stitch stood and watched Lilo run away. He felt his heart slowly tear with each and every step that she took. Looking away, he tried his best not to cry. For a faint moment, he felt like he should chase after her. Thoughts of his dream kept him held in place. _She probably doesn’t want to see me anyway._ It felt like he was alone in the world again. No family or home to call his own.

“Meega nota yuuga would hate meega.” With a sad sigh, he slowly dragged his feet up the small hill. He didn’t really know where his feet were taking him, but he didn’t want to stand there any longer.

It came as no surprise to him to see Lilo run away. He certainly didn’t expect her to want to stay with him after she had found out the truth. However, nothing could have prepared him for when it actually happened. _I wonder if this is how she felt when I left for the BRB…probably not._ Stitch always thought the biggest mistake of his life was the time he had left Lilo, but now he knew he was wrong. _I could never do anything worse than this._

Stitch’s view slowly shifted to the sky. Two birds were slowly flying through the clouds above, heading towards the ocean. It was like they were dancing in the skies above, twirling and chirping together. He didn’t notice at first, but it looked like the sun had already begun to set. Night was still far off, but everything was slowly gaining an orange glow.

With a loud thud, he hit his head against Jumba’s ship. _What am I doing here?_ A Stitch shaped dent was left in the side, and he hoped Jumba wouldn’t notice. He didn’t need two family members upset with him at once.

“Six-two-six!” Jumba quickly came bounding out of the large ship, carrying what looked like a regular squirt bottle. “What is this?” He asked when he saw the large dent. “Never mind, it is not mattering. Hey… what is being wrong?”

“Meega told Lilo.” Stitch didn’t realize he was so easy to read. He paid no mind to it, not really caring about how he looked or felt.

“I take she was not being understanding?” Stitch didn’t reply. “I am sorry six-two-six. But it had to be done. Here.” He handed Stitch the squirt bottle. “This will cure Lilo. But you have to be the one to use it on her. No one else can be doing it”

“Meega?” Stitch was initially confused as to why he specifically had to use it, but the thought was quickly pushed to the side. “Wait. This will cure Lilo?”

“Yes. You see I am finding-“Jumba didn’t get to finish his explanation, Stitch had already took off in the direction he last saw Lilo. “Wait I am not telling you…” His cries did not reach the small experiment. “Oh what’s the point, he will be finding out soon anyway.”

Once again Stitch’s body was moving on its own. _I can fix this._ He ran faster. _I can fix this._ His resolve strengthened. _I can fix this._ For a moment he took pleasure in the soft comfort that was the thought of Lilo not remembering. However, he decided that if she didn’t, he would tell her anyway. _I need to own up for what I have done._ In mere seconds he reached the town, all he had to do was find Lilo.

“But where did she go?” He looked up and down the street, wondering exactly which way he should go.

 

“Don’t worry mom, I’ve got it!” Victoria quickly ran to answer the knock at the door, careful not to move her injured arm too much. “Who is it…?” She trailed off, the smile she wore faded when she saw who it was standing there.

“Hey, Victoria.” Lilo gave a light smile and wave to her friend. She saw the retreat in her friends face and felt a slight stab in her chest. “I was hoping I could talk to you.”

“I’m not really up for talking.” Victoria began to close the door, but Lilo stopped her.

“Please. I’m really sorry for what I did. For everything I did. I just, really need to talk to you. To my friend.”

“Your friend?” She thought she’d never hear Lilo call her a friend again. Her hope was quickly set aside, worried that Lilo’s mood could be changed at any second. “I thought you hated me.”

“I know I said some hurtful things.” Lilo was expecting to feel anger still. The entire way to Victoria’s she thought about nothing but keeping her jealousy in check. Now that she was standing there, face to face with the girl, the sight of the bandaging on her arm brought her nothing but guilt and sadness. “Nothing I can do can make up for it. Saying I’ve been under a spell isn’t much of an excuse for anything.”

The look of shock on Victoria’s face surprised Lilo, but not as much as what her friend had asked her next. “Wait. You know?”

The two quickly ran to Victoria’s room, realizing they really did need to talk. Snooty was more than a little confused as to why he was suddenly shoved out of the room with a door slammed behind him. He stared at it for a few short moments before flying downstairs to rest on the couch instead.

Victoria sat crossed leg on her bed, while Lilo sat in her friend’s desk chair. They could feel a slight breeze coming from the open window, giving a refreshing feel as the golden hue of the sun filled the room. Lilo gave a quick synopsis of what Stitch had told her. Victoria was glad to know that Stitch finally came clean, however the happiness was short lived. Being told that there wasn’t a cure yet was worrisome. At the very least, she was happy she could forgive Lilo, finally able to tell her that it wasn’t her fault. It was refreshing to finally be able to talk like friends again. Even if it was a short time, having Lilo mad at her was something she never wanted to experience.

With the apologies and explanation out of the way, there was a question weighing on Victoria’s mind. “So how are you feeling now?”

Lilo spun the chair around as she gave the question some thought. She really felt a range of emotions, however, everything still came back to Stitch. “I don’t know how to describe it. It’s like…every nerve in me wants to rush to Stitch’s side. To be with him. I’m not even sure I actually care about the spell anymore, I just want to hold Stitch. That could be the spell talking though…” She let out a long sigh, leaning back to stare at the ceiling. “I just kind of wish I knew why Hunkahunka would peck me.”

Victoria let out a sigh of her own. She knew she would have to tell Lilo the truth eventually. _If Stitch could do it, so can I_. She confessed to everything. She told her how Angel had approached her with a plan, and that she was more than happy to be a part of it. She quickly apologized after, saying she didn’t realize how much of a problem it would become.

“It’s okay. But why would you do it?” Lilo felt like she had been asking a lot of questions the last week. However, it was nice that she was getting answers for a change.

“I just wanted you to be happy.”

“Thanks for thinking about me, but why would it make me happy?”

“You don’t remember?”

“Remember?” Lilo then explained that her mind would become fuzzy whenever she tried to think of things before the peck. Specifically things about Stitch right before that moment. “Actually. The reason I came over here wasn’t just to apologize. I was hoping you would tell me what I felt for Stitch before all of this happened.”

“Is that all? That’s easy. You…” Victoria was cut off. Suddenly, the room filled with the distant voices of Stitch, Angel, and Reuben. All three were calling out Lilo’s name desperately.

A strange look came over Lilo’s face at the sound of Stitch’s voice. Like a switch had been flipped in her mind, Lilo immediately got up. “Sorry. I really need to get to him.”

“But I didn’t get to tell you.” Lilo was already out the door. Victoria chased after, but was only told that it didn’t matter, she just needed to get to Stitch as soon as she could. She watched as Lilo quickly ran down the road, like nothing in the world could stop her. “I hope you find your answers then.”

 

“Lilo! Where are yuuga?” Stitch had been calling out Lilo’s name for what felt like hours. His throat began to grow soar, but he was determined to find her.

“Anything yet?” Reuben asked, running up to Stitch with Angel in tow.

Stitch had run into his cousin’s walking hand in hand shortly after he began his search for Lilo. After a short explanation, they quickly jumped into action to help him find their friend. He had hoped that when he saw them rush to his side that they had spotted her, but sadly he was wrong. Stitch noticed that even throughout their searching, Angel and Reuben’s hands didn’t once come unclasped. He meant to ask if they had started dating, but rushing feet soon caught his attention.

“Stitch!” Lilo turned the corner and saw the three experiments only a half a block away. Seeing Stitch’s face turn to see her brought her a happiness she had yet not felt before.

“Lilo?!” Stitch was relieved that they finally found her. _Now I can finally cure you and maybe you won’t hate me anymore_. In what seemed like only a second, Lilo went from the street corner to his arms. He was more amazed that she was hugging him than he was that they found her. “Lilo? Meega thought yuuga hated me.”

“Hate you? I could never hate you. I love you, silly. I told you that.” Her voice sounded genuine, but Stitch knew that she was still under the spell. She would stay that way until her used the cure that he still held in his hand.

“Lilo.” His voice became soft, and with a little effort, he managed to get her to end the hug. “Jumba found a cure. I have it here.” He held up the squirt bottle, hoping that she would be happy to see it.

Instead she just frowned. “I don’t care about that. I don’t need a cure. I’m happy as I am. I only want to be with you.”

“No, Lilo…” He started to lift his hand, but Lilo pressed it back down.

“Stitch! Please. The only thing that matters in the world to me is that I get to be with the one I love. And that is and always will be you.”

Stitch didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t tell if it was the spell talking, or if Lilo was actually acting on her own feelings. The offer to be with her forever was tempting, and he began to hesitate. Wondering if using the cure was really the right thing. At battle with himself once again, he knew the choice he wanted to make.

A soft hand fell on his shoulder. He turned to see that Angel stood beside him. “Stitch. Yuuga have to do it. Yuuga know it has to be done.”

Seeing Angel’s hand on her love made Lilo’s blood boil. “Get your hands off of him!” Lilo shouted, blinded by anger. She pulled Stitch away from the female experiment, wrapping him in her arms. “Stitch is mine and no one else’s! Only I can touch him!”

Lilo’s outburst all but made the choice for Stitch. This wasn’t something he could live with for the rest of their lives. “Lilo.” He whispered to her. “She wasn’t doing anything.”

She let him out of his grasp, realizing what she had done. “I’m sorry, Stitch. It’s just… I wasn’t jealous or anything I swear. I promise I’m fine, I don’t need the cure. I’m okay the way I am.”

“Meega love yuuga. Meega want naga more than to be with yuuga forever.”

“I love you too.”

“Meega love yuuga. That isa why meega have to do this.” Stitch lifted the bottle, finally able to do what should have been done long ago.

“Wait! Stitch, no.” Lilo pleaded one last time to no avail. The next thing she knew, she felt the cold splash from the bottle hit her in the face.


	14. I'm Always Me

Lilo brought her hands up to her soaked face. She rubbed the liquid out of her eyes, trying to dry off as quickly as she could. Suddenly, her mind completely cleared. Like a fog clearing, or as if she was waking from a dream. The flurry of emotions she had previously felt, the anger towards Angel, the guilt towards Victoria, it was all gone. All that was left behind was the real Lilo.

Stitch tilted his head, trying to see the face of the girl he loved. “L-Lilo?”

She stopped rubbing her face when she heard her name. Slowly pulling her hands away from her eyes, she saw the worried face of her best friend for what felt like the first time in forever. “Stitch, what…?” Lilo trailed off. Each and every memory of the days since her birthday rushed her like a flood. A wave of emotions, smiles, laughter, tears. Everything. Her face grew a bright red, as the embarrassment of it all finally set in. “Stitch. I…you… we… we did…”

“Yuuga remember?” Stitch dropped the spray bottle. He was prepared for her remembering, but he wasn’t prepared for her reaction. Lilo covered her face, trying to hide the blush that was slowly taking over. He looked away and muttered, “Meega soka.” With that, he took off at a run, not yet wanting to face the shame of the things he did.

Angel and Reuben called after him, but their cries were to no avail. If Stitch had heard his cousins calling to him, he didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop.

Lilo heard the calls and the running footsteps, and pulled her hands away, but it was too late. Stitch was already gone, nowhere to be seen. “Stitch? Stitch!”

A crestfallen Angel and Reuben approached the girl, wondering if it was truly the real her. “Is it really you?” Reuben asked hopefully.

Lilo stood, nodding her head. “It’s really me.” She looked into their smiling faces, she could feel the joy radiate off of them. “So me and Stitch… we really?”

“Ih.” Angel nodded her head enthusiastically. Quickly, she realized that it wasn’t truly a happy thing. Because of her idea, a lot of problems had arisen. A lot of pain was dealt. “I’m so sorry. It was all my fault. I just wanted you and Stitch to be happy.”

“I know Angel. I know.” Lilo petted the girls head, lovingly. She couldn’t be mad at her friends. All they wanted was for her to be happy.

Reuben picked up the discarded spray bottle. A few drops of the cure still held strong to the nozzle. It smelled odd to him. _That’s weird._ Shaking off the odd feeling, he handed the bottle to Lilo. “So? What are you going to do now?”

Lilo held the bottle close to her heart. A small smile formed on her lips, slowly growing larger. “I’m going to go find Stitch. That’s all I can do.”

“That’s my girl!” He said with a laugh. “You better hurry up. He’s a fast one.”

Lilo nodded, and with a final goodbye, she set off after Stitch. Determination set in her strong, unwavering eyes.

The two experiments stood and watched the girl run off. They hoped that she would be able to find him, and that perhaps they could finally find happiness. With a scowl, Angel punched Reuben in the arm.

“Who’s your girl?” She asked, crossing her arms and tapping her foot.

Reuben just laughed and gave her a kiss. “You are. Forever and always, my Angel.”

 

Stitch had grown oddly tired as the sun finally began to set, soon, darkness would coat the island. His body should be able to do so much more, but his mind had grown weary. His footsteps slowed, his arms and legs grew heavy. The thoughts and guilt of his time as Lilo’s boyfriend floated heavy over his head.

“Why did yuuga run?”

“Weren’t yuuga going to face it?”

“Yuuga such a coward.”

Once again, he let his feet carry him, not caring where he may end up. Soon, he found himself at the log he sat on during Lilo’s birthday. It felt like just yesterday that he tried to work up the courage to tell her his feelings. He lightly placed his hands on the cold hard wood. It was such a happy day for him. He wondered if it was a happy day for Lilo as well. With a sad sigh, he balled his hands into fists, leaving scratches in the bark. “If only meega could do it again.” Stitch dropped to his knees, tears rolling down his face. “Meega would tell yuuga right.”

 

 Jumba looked down on Stitch from his ships cockpit. Despite the nightfall beginning to set, he could still see Stitch’s hunched form, and he wondered why his little creation looked so sad.

“He should be being happy. Perhaps something was going wrong?”

He went over the calculations in his head. No matter what the situation, the cure by all means should have worked.

“No. I am being genius! There was nothing wrong with the cure.” Jumba continued to look down on the hunched form of Stitch. It pained his heart to see him in such sorrow. “There must have been some sort of misunderstanding. Hmm. Perhaps I should be going and talking to him.”

The large alien quickly made his way down to the old clearing. He was about to exit the brush when he heard a voice calling from behind him. He turned and saw that Lilo, carrying the bottle, was desperately searching for Stitch.

“Perhaps, I should be staying out of this after all.” He backed off, letting Lilo find Stitch on her own. He returned to his lab, sure that they wouldn’t need any explanation from him this time around.

 

Lilo continued to call out to Stitch. She was sure that he would return home, however, she didn’t know where at home he would be. She looked down on the treehouse, and didn’t see any signs of movement. _If he’s not there…then maybe._

She starting taking the path up the Jumba’s ship. Thinking he would try to hide somewhere in there. Along the way, she spotted something small and blue hunched over a log. The same log she remembered eating birthday cake on with Stitch not too long ago.

Stitch heard her enter the clearing, however, he made no move to look at her. He quickly dried his tears, not wanting her to see his shame stain his face. She approached him slowly, not wanting him to run off again.

“Hey, Stitch.” Her voice was soft, and it somehow felt like it was the first time she spoke to him.

“Um, Hi.” He replied, not sure what to say. Or, more like not sure what words to use. There were many things he wanted to say to her, to apologize over and over. To make up for everything that happened. “Meega soka.”

“You said that, silly.” Lilo saw that he still wouldn’t look at her, and it hurt her greatly. After all that they had been through together, she never thought that a time would come where Stitch couldn’t face her. She placed the bottle on the log, softly, getting down on her knees beside him. “Hey, Stitch. Look at me.”

Slowly, Stitch turned his head. Lilo could see the guilt and sorrow on his face, clear as day. Soft trails of a darker blue lined his cheeks. She didn’t like that he had been crying.

She gave him a smile in hopes of cheering him up, and rubbed the top of his head. “Look now. There’s no need for tears, okay? Why did you run off like that?”

“Because…meega did terrible things to yuuga. Meega did so many things meega shouldn’t. Meega should have found cure sooner. Meega…”

Lilo placed a finger to his lips, bringing his explanation to a close. “You’re right. You should have found a cure sooner. A lot of bad things did happen.” Stitch’s ears fell at her words, and he tried to look away. “But we’ve already talked about all that, didn’t we?” She asked as she gently brought his face back to meet hers.

“Not with the real yuuga.”

“There is no real me.” She laughed. “There is only one me. And I’ll be me no matter what happens.”

“How can yuuga forgive meega so easily?”

“You really feel like you need to be punished don’t you?” Lilo could always read Stitch like a book. She always knew what he was thinking and how he felt just by looking at him. “If you insist.”

Stitch closed his eyes as Lilo stood. He was completely ready to hear what Lilo’s punishment was for him. Feeling like he had indulged himself too greatly in his fantasy, he needed something to make up for it. What came as a surprise, was the feeling of cold water spraying him. Lilo laughed as she shot him a few times with the spray bottle. Stitch wiped at his face and shook his body, in a vain attempt at getting the water off of him.

“Dunga haga blaba!”

“There. Sorry. I know you hate water.” She threw the bottle to the ground, having drained it of the last few drops. “But that’s your punishment.” Lilo sat on the log, motioning for Stitch to join her once he was dry.

“Gaba?” Stitch was confused. He felt like he surely deserved far more than just that. “But meega had yuuga act like meega’s boojiboo. And made yuuga say you love meega. And we…we kissed.”

Lilo titled her head at his confusion. She found how he was acting completely adorable. _Sometimes you’re too innocent for your own good._ She smiled and giggled at him, making him stop his digression.

“You know, Stitch. I really don’t mind the things we did. The hand holding, the dates, the hugs, the cuddling, this kisses. I really didn’t mind.”

“R-really?” Stitch was starting to feel better. If she was okay with the things they did, he was able to forgive himself. Just a little.

“Really.” She could tell he was starting to feel better. She knew that she would have to tell him. If she didn’t say it now, she wouldn’t ever be able to do it. Thinking back to all the time they spent together, and the things they did, gave her the courage to continue. She started to play with her hands as she began her confession. “You know, Stitch. There’s something I should tell you. Actually. It’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you for a long time. I just never knew how to say it before.”

She paused, and saw how his ears twitched as he waited for her to continue. The look in his eyes told her that she was the only thing in the world that mattered to him right then. Her heat began to beat faster and faster, as the words caught in her throat finally made their way out.

“I love you, Stitch.”

 

Jumba burst into his lab laughing. “Ah! I truly am evil genius.” The sound of rushing water filled the room, and he instantly looked to the sink he used for cleaning his equipment. He ran to the faucet to turn it off. “Can’t believe I was forgetting that when filling bottle. Better be more careful from this point on. It’d be bad if I were to leave molten laser cutter on.” He burst out laughing again. “That might actually be fun!”

Starting his daily rounds of the lab, Jumba checked over a few devices and experiments. When he started to take notes, he noticed he had kept the file of Hunkahunka open on his main computer.

“Heheh. I am wondering how six-two-six and little girl are doing now.” He began closing the files, first making sure to update the abilities and cures section of the document. “Still, to think that large amounts of sugar could cause emotions to spiral like that. We should be informing three-two-three of this side effect before he goes pecking anyone else.” Having finished updating his computer, he decided that it was time to call it a night. “It is good thing that little girl felt the way she did. Or else, things could have been going a lot worse. Thankfully, a peck of love would cause very little changes to someone who is already being in love.”

He turned off the light to the lab. On his way back to the house, he saw that the couple was still sitting on the log together. It was clear they had a lot to talk about. Jumba wondered if the shocked look on Stitch’s face meant that Lilo had finally told him what her true feelings were. Seeing the discarded bottle on the ground made him think about the breakthrough he had when researching for the cure. _It’s a strange thing. I wonder why it would not work if anyone but six-two-six used it. It was just regular water after all._  Hearing the conversation between the two start to continue, he felt it best to quickly hurry to the house. _Perhaps it has to do with love and letting go. Hmm._ He took one final look at the night sky before entering the house. The peaceful night made him wish to continue experimenting. There were many more things he wished to know about the events that transpired because of Hunkahunka. _For another time, I suppose. Maybe there is more to three-two-three than I initially thought._

 

For a moment, Stitch thought his ears had deceived him. It took a moment to sink in that he did in fact hear her say that she loved him. “Yuuga do?”  

“Yes, Stitch. I really do.” As proof, she gave him a kiss. Not like the ones when they were young. The same kiss that they shared while Lilo was under the spell. One filled with love and passion. “See?”

He was completely speechless. Having thought he would never feel her sweet touch or kiss again, his entire world filled with life again. Stitch let his body act on its own. He leapt forward and tackled Lilo into a hug, making them fall off the back of the log. They rolled around in the dirt, laughing. Each chance he got, Stitch left a kiss somewhere on Lilo, anywhere he could reach. She giggled at each touch, but always returned one in kind.

“Does this mean, meega can be yuuga’s boojiboo again?” Stitch asked, realizing he didn’t first ask if it was okay to give her a barrage of kisses.

“Hmm.” Lilo thought it over for a moment. Pretending to weigh the options. “I don’t remember us breaking up. Aren’t we still boojiboo’s?”

The smile that grew on Stitch’s face was grand. All his hopes and dreams suddenly came true in a single night. With one final kiss, Lilo washed away all the pain and guilt that Stitch carried with him for so long. Finally freeing him, allowing him to truly enjoy the love they shared. On instinct, the two let themselves fall into a deep kiss. There was nothing in the world they wanted more than to feel the fire of the other’s lips. Somehow, the feeling became better and better as time went on. No one was around to disturb them. They were only joined by the light of the full moon.

“Meega love yuuga.” Stitch said when their lips finally parted.

“I love you too.” She replied with a dreamy smile.

Taking his hand, Lilo stood up and led Stitch back home. Finally, they were ready to truly begin their life as a real couple. One that didn’t need a spell to help convey their feelings. Fully embracing in their love, that was indeed true.


End file.
